Forever In Love
by NatahlieWhitlock
Summary: My first fanfiction. A story about Bella and Jasper finding each other, something I thought about when reading Twilight at first. Rated M because things are going to get heavier later on. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

_Authors Note__: As the summary says, this is a Jasper/Bella story. It's pretty much like Twilight, but with my spin on it. I suppose that all Twi-Fics are like this, so I don't feel so bad, but still…I wish the idea were mine. If I had it my way, Jasper and Bella would be together because it makes for a more thrilling plot, plus, Edward and Alice are perfect for each other. This is my first story ever, so I really appreciate you reading. Anyway, on with the story then._

_Chapter 1: It Had To Be You_

My name is Bella Swan, and this is the story of how my life changed forever.

It was summertime in Forks, Washington. My first summer as a resident here, well, for a really long time anyway. I'd hoped that I would get to travel to Jacksonville to visit my Mother for the summer, but she and Phil were travelling. I smiled, knowing that Mom was happy, she loved to travel. Charlie was working overtime at the station. With me at home and not having anything to do he kept himself scarce because nothing was more awkward than Charlie and I alone in the house all day. I was very grateful.

I worked part time at the Newton's outdoors store, but only worked a few hours a week. I made enough for gas, and the occasional movie with friends, but that was the extent of it. The first week or so after school let out I'd tried to busy myself with cleaning up the house, doing laundry, and reading books over and over. Needless to say, that got old quickly. So, I decided to take up hiking. Not such a good idea for me, but it was really the only thing Forks had to offer. I hiked with Jake mostly, when he had the time. Lately though, he'd become _obsessed_ with a girl from the Reservation and I'd seen less and less of him. We still talked every day, but most of his time was spent with her. It didn't hurt my feelings or anything, I was genuinely happy for him.

The morning started off like any other; I'd made breakfast for Dad and myself, saw him off to work then got dressed. I hadn't planned on hiking but the weather hadn't called for rain so I took the opportunity and ran with it. Since I was going it alone, I chose a trail that Jacob and I frequented, something familiar. The farther I got though, the duller it became. I decided to veer off course in hopes that it would liven things up a bit. I took out my knife and marked some trees for me to follow back later, with my poor sense of direction, this was a necessity. The forest became thicker, and I had to mark quite a few trees, but eventually I found a trail. It was faint, barely noticeable even, it clearly hadn't been used in quite some time. As I made my way through, I kicked the plants away from it, making it more visible so I'd be able to follow it back.

I'd probably hiked about three miles when I heard the sound of water in the distance. I'd been staring at the ground mostly, not wanting to lose my balance and break my ankle with no one around, but when I looked up I noticed a clearing in the trees about 300 yards ahead. Curious, I walked a little faster wondering if I'd found some sort of brook. When I emerged from the forest I almost lost my balance and fell from the surprise. It hadn't been a brook, it was a pond. Very small, and surrounded by huge rocks and boulders and from some unseen source, there was water pouring down over them into the pond creating the most beautiful waterfalls I'd ever seen. I knew my mouth was gaping at the scenery as I looked around for signs that anybody had been here and from what I could tell, no one had. I'd discovered my own piece of heaven.

I walked closer to the water, a bit of mist from the waterfall danced across my cheeks and I shuddered at the pleasurable sensation. I found a rock near the bank and crawled up onto it, opening the zip lock bag that contained my lunch. I couldn't wait to tell Jake about this place, I'd never encountered anything so beautiful, except maybe the Cullen family. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what had even made me think of them. The Cullen's were a family that lived in Forks, I'd gone to school with their adopted children. I'd never talked to them really, or more appropriately, _they_ had never bothered to talk to me or anyone else for that matter. They were all devastatingly beautiful people, like models, though they were in desperate need of some sun and a good night's sleep. They were all pretty wrapped up in each other, in the most literal sense, all coupled and from what I could tell, madly in love, except Jasper Hale…who always seemed a little sad and distant, like he didn't fit in with the rest emotionally.

I was brought out of my thoughts when a low rumble of thunder in the distance caught my attention.

"_Shit_."

I gathered my belongings and headed back to the trail, taking one last longing look at my paradise. I couldn't wait to come back. Jacob would _have_ to see this.

The minute I got back to the house I dialed Jake's number.

"Hey Bella," he chimed into the phone.

"Oh my God, Jake, you _have_ to come hiking with me when the weather gets nice again. I found the coolest place in the world. I mean, it's _unreal_!"

"What? You went by yourself?" His voice was alarmed.

"Well…yeah, but you're completely missing the point, I found heaven Jacob, I'm serious." I heard him let out a long sigh.

"Alright Bells, when do you want to go?" he conceded.

"Hold on," I reached for my laptop and quickly opened my home page clicking on the weather forecast for Forks. "It says it's going to rain all day tomorrow but there's only an 8% chance the next day. So is Friday good?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then okay?"

"Alright…bye Jake! Say hi to Alyssa for me." I hung up the phone.

As predicted, it rained all night, and half of Thursday. I was starting to worry that the notorious cloud that constantly hung over Forks might not let up, but at around 7pm Thursday night it stopped, easing my concern. I cheerfully started going around the house, collecting my hiking gear revved up for mine and Jake's trip.

"Hiking?" Charlie guessed as I made my way through the living room picking up random stuff.

"Yeah, I found- I mean- _Jake_ and I found this really awesome spot the other day."

"Cool," he said returning his attention back to the television.

I finished packing what I could, saving the rest for tomorrow morning. I could barely sleep that night, I felt like a 5 year old who knew they were going to Disney Land the next day.

When I woke up I didn't even have to hit the snooze button. I jumped out of bed and threw on my hiking clothes. Charlie had gone already, on Fridays he always went in earlier so he could come home sooner. I raced downstairs and ate a bowl of cereal, then prepared myself a couple sandwiches for lunch. I made a few extra, knowing Jake would be hungry, he was _always_ hungry. Afterwards, I picked up my cell phone and called him, giddy with excitement. I couldn't wait to show him what I'd found.

"Hey, it's me. Okay, so do you want me to come pick you up or would you rather just meet at our usual spot?" I was practically squealing through the phone.

"Yeah…about that. Listen Bells, I don't think I'm going to be able to go with you today," Jake responded. My heart sank.

"_Come on_, I'm sure Alyssa can make it one day without you," I assured him.

"No it's not Alyssa, I just- I have stuff to do today is all, important stuff."

"Is everything alright?" I asked. There was something off about his tone.

"Yeah, everything is fine, I just- I can't make it today, I'm sorry."

"Fine…but you owe me one buster," I gave in, disappointed that I wouldn't have anyone to share my new spot with.

"Yeah, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

I put my cell away and leaned against the countertop. Well, I wasn't going to let Jake spoil my day. I'd gone there once by myself, and nothing was stopping me from doing it again. I picked up my backpack and headed for the truck.

It took me a lot longer to get to the pond, the rain had soaked the forest and made the ground quite slippery. I'd nearly fallen a couple times before I decided to take it a bit slower. Eventually though, I was looking at my waterfall and I danced over to the rock I'd sat on yesterday. I wasn't hungry yet, so instead I laid my jacket out on the damp stone and rested my body across it. It was actually quite comfortable. I listened to the symphony that the waterfall was making as I drifted off to sleep.

I probably only slept about thirty minutes, which is good, because if I'd slept until dark I'd be screwed. I sat up and grabbed a sandwich out of my bag, sighing contently. I could stay here forever. I imagined a tiny cabin off to the side of the pond, just big enough for two. Who the other person would be was far from me, but I imagined it anyway. We would wake up every morning to the sound of the lake, and the gorgeous forest surrounding us, making it our own little universe. I closed my eyes to see it clearly and listened to the rustling of the trees behind me…_Wait, rustling trees? There wasn't any wind._

I jumped off my rock and turned around to face the noise, sure enough there was movement from beyond the greenery. I started backing up, terrified at what could be causing the commotion. A bear maybe, a bobcat, or some other terrifying animal that I couldn't even think of. I was alone, completely, no weapons besides a silly old knife that was only sharp enough to mark a tree, not that I'd be able to defend myself with it anyway. My heart started pounding as my blood turned to ice, whatever it was, it was getting closer, only a few feet away from showing itself. If I ran would it catch me? My mind raced as I decided what to do, should I stand completely still? I was pretty sure that's what you were supposed to do in a situation like this…or maybe around unfamiliar dogs? I mentally slapped myself and decided I'd be better off making a run for it, but it was too late. Whatever it was, it was about to emerge from the forest. I shut my eyes tightly not wanting to see what was about to kill me.

"Bella?" a deep voice called out across the clearing. I opened one eye only to see Jasper Hale standing at the edge of the forest, looking just about as startled as I was. I nearly doubled over in relief; I had to support my body on the rock.

"Jesus, you scared the _shit_ out of me," I yelled to him.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he asked, walking towards me.

"Hiking?" _Duh_. "What are _you_ doing out here?"

"The same," he answered although it didn't sound like he meant it. I looked up at him, his face as beautiful as ever, he was closer now, though he was still several feet away from me. As I processed him, I noticed a red stain across the sleeve of his shirt.

"Jasper, are you hurt?" I pointed to the stain. He looked down and immediately covered it with his hand.

"No…it's just a stain," he said quickly. I looked at it again, it was clinging to the skin.

"It's still wet," I pointed out, "I can take a look at it if you'd like. I have some first aid stuff in my backpack." A must-have for me, I left out.

"It's blood, but, honestly I'm fine. It isn't mine," he rambled then immediately regretted it, his face wincing. What the hell was he doing out here? Killing people and hiding the bodies? "What I mean is…it's no big deal. I found a fallen bird and I tried to see if there was anything I could do for it, some of its blood got on my shirt, that's all."

"O-k-a-y," I drew out the word, wondering what was up with him.

"Do you normally hike alone?" he questioned, scanning the area for a sign of anyone else.

"No," I replied, "but my friend cancelled on me and I wanted to come to this place, so I decided to go it alone."

"That's not very bright of you." I raised my eyebrows, slightly offended.

"Well, _you're_ out here by yourself."

"Touché" was all he said.

As mentioned before, I'd never talked to any of the Cullen's, so this whole ordeal was swiftly becoming awkward.

"You're the last person I'd ever expect to see out here," I broke the silence.

"I could say the same about you. Honestly, I wouldn't expect to see _anyone_ out here. You gave me quite a fright," he chuckled.

"I gave you a _fright_?"

"You startled me."

"I know what it means," I said, "Do you come here often?" I asked only half sarcastically.

"Yes, I come here after," he stopped abruptly, rethinking what he was about to say, "I come here after I hike, it helps me wind down before heading home."

"I like it here, I thought I'd discovered it," I shared, my disappointment evident. Jasper took a few more steps back.

"It _is_ beautiful, but it's dangerous to be out here by yourself. You're lucky I wasn't a wild animal, I could've seriously hurt you," he said the last bit really weird, like there may be a double meaning to his statement. I just stared at him, trying to figure him out.

"Do you _hike_ a lot?" I interrogated.

"I hike as often as I possibly can," again, there was that hint of a double meaning.

"Well, for someone who hikes quite a bit, you don't look very prepared," I declared.

"Pardon?"

"For one, you don't have any gear. No backpack, no water, no food, nothing." He looked over his body, then back at me. His eyes looked annoyed, and I could see that I was striking a nerve in him. Before he could answer, a low rumble of thunder resounded nearby.

"That's twice that that's happened to me here," I whined, hating Forks more and more by the second.

"Perhaps I should walk you back to your vehicle?" he asked, sounding pleased.

"No thanks," I hopped off my rock. I wasn't sure what he was up to out here, but I knew I didn't want to be in on it. I don't care how gorgeous he is.

"Please, I insist. If we go our separate ways I'm just going to worry about your safety," he pressed. I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering why he cared.

"You aren't going to kill me are you?" I was joking, of course, but still…he _was_ acting rather odd, even more odd than a Cullen would normally act. His expression was truly startled, his golden eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets.

"Are you always this insane?" he asked.

"Insane? I'm not the one hiking without gear," I reminded him.

"I like to call it extreme hiking, gives me a rush," he responded sarcastically.

We journeyed down the path that I'd marked. Jasper was impressed with my know-how. I didn't feel the need to tell him I'd learned most of it from Jacob, though I wasn't sure why I kept it from him. When we finally arrived at my truck, Jasper seemed restless, like it had taken us centuries to get there instead of an hour or two.

"Well, drive safely Bella."

"I will, but, how will you get back home? Aren't we far away from wherever you started from?"

"Don't worry about me," he assured, "Extreme hiker, remember?"

I laughed as I got into my truck, revving up the engine. I watched Jasper disappear slowly in my rearview mirror. Our chance encounter had changed my opinion about him, in fact, it changed entirely. I found it difficult to think of anything else.

_Extra Note: That's it for chapter one. Hope you liked it. Also, I'm not sure how good my descriptions are, so if you need a visual for the pond theres a link on my page, it's a lovely photo._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note__: I was really surprised at all the nice reviews, so thank you. I was glad some of you wanted this next chapter to have Jasper's p.o.v. because I already had it written that way, so that worked out. I got a few questions asking how often I plan on updating and the honest truth is anytime I can, I always try to think ahead so I have a basic outline so there should never be too long a period between posts. Anyway, here it is, enjoy._

_Chapter 2: Friends_

_JPOV_

I had gone back to that spot in the forest every day since I'd seen her there but she never showed up again. I must have really scared her, which was probably for her own good, but it disappointed me. I never paid attention to her when we were at school because she always blended into all of her friends. I wished I'd paid attention to her, she was something else.

I'd just finished hunting when I smelled her. I was on my way to the pond because when I hunted my natural instincts overpowered every fiber in my body and I always needed to wind down before going back to Forks…I'd kill someone otherwise. When her scent hit my nose though, it was too late, I was committed to this kill. Until I saw her; when my eyes found her I'd stopped in my tracks. I had never done that before, _never_. Any other human would have been dead within seconds, but she had stopped me. It was as if I was as practiced and in control as Carlisle.

I remembered that my brother had once mentioned that he could not hear her thoughts like he did everyone else's. She was a mystery, but we had quickly forgotten about her when it was evident that she was no threat. She didn't gossip about us or stare when we walked by like the rest of her classmates, she was a kind girl. And there she stood, a few hundred yards away, easily within my reach. My eyes hadn't even darkened. It was as if her blood didn't bother me and I was transfixed by her.

This morning Alice told me she had seen Bella at the pond. When I told my family about my encounter with the girl they had initially been horrified, then shocked, then perplexed. I didn't have the discipline that they did and we were all astonished that I had been able to resist her. I wanted to see if I could do it again though I knew it was testing fate and horrible to toy with her life. Still, I wanted to know what was different about Bella Swan that had allowed me to spare her.

_BPOV_

I had spent a great deal of time thinking about Jasper Hale, the _Cullen_ who I'd never thought to talk to, that I'd never dream would talk to me. The beautiful, magnificent, and very mysterious boy who had nearly given me a heart attack when I randomly met him in the middle of the forest, in a spot that I was sure only he and I knew existed.

Charlie had been in and out of the house a great deal, fishing and working mostly. I'd been able to pick up some extra shifts at Newton's, which was a welcome distraction. Still, when I came home I always picked up where I left off in my thoughts. I wasn't the first girl to swoon over Jasper, and I was most certain that I wouldn't be the last. I'd never really given him much thought when we were in school, though I'd been in AP History with him. All I really knew about him was that he was very intelligent, when it came to history at least. According to my other friends, all of the Cullen children were exceptionally bright, so it was no shock.

I felt oddly sad when I thought about how I'd probably not see him the rest of the summer. Our short exchange in the forest had been a very strange coincidence, but a coincidence none the less. Talking when school started wasn't an option either because he, along with his twin sister Rosalie and his adopted brother (and Rosalie's boyfriend) Emmett had graduated.

_Enough, _I yelled in my head. Revolving my thoughts around Jasper Hale was pointless, even if I did get to see him again, he wouldn't talk to me probably. Or even if he did, my misplaced crush on him was futile, he would never- _could_ never- return the affection. I rolled my eyes at my silliness and grabbed my cell phone, desperately needing to talk to anyone, just to distract myself.

"Hello?" Jacob sluggishly rasped into the phone. I glanced at the clock by my bedside.

"Jake, it's 3:30 in the afternoon; you're not still in bed are you?"

"Wha?" The incoherency rolled off his tongue.

"Jake, it's Bella," I laughed, "Long night?"

"Kind of."

"So I suppose you aren't up for hanging out then?" I gathered, slightly disappointed.

"Oh…nah Bella, not tonight. I'm exhausted, maybe tomorrow?"

"Okay, goodnight."

I hung up the phone and let my eyes roam around my bedroom. The rain outside was violently crashing against my window. When I'd first moved to Forks I'd hated this sound, it kept me up at all hours but now it was soothing, it was consistent. _I wonder if Jasper likes the rain._ Ah! There I go again.

I called Angela and talked to her a little while. Nothing major, just how her relationship with Ben was going, and I asked her if I had missed out on any juicy gossip.

"Jess is having a party this weekend," she divulged.

"Really?"

"Yeah, her parents are going out of town. I think she's trying to keep it a secret until they leave so they don't find out," she laughed, and I cracked a grin too. She had to be at work at 4pm though, so our conversation was cut short. Apparently, distractions weren't an option tonight.

I let my mind wander back to Jasper, his honey-blonde hair and gorgeous topaz eyes. He was a lean guy, with uncontrolled locks framing his pale face. There was more than that to him though I guessed. All of his siblings seemed to be happy, together, and content while he'd always looked a little…lost. Like he didn't fit in with them quite right or maybe he just didn't want to. As far as physical appearance went, he fit in perfectly, better actually. However, it always seemed like he was one step behind them, trying really hard to fall into line but never quite maintaining it. It was like they were all a part of something that he desperately tried to be in on, but just wasn't made for it.

I was overanalyzing and I needed to stop. Whatever set Jasper apart from his siblings was none of my business. I heaved a sigh and rolled off my bed, going downstairs to fix a snack and see if there was anything good on TV. I ended up watching "Little Women", a movie that I hadn't seen in a while. By the time it was over it had turned dark outside, and I was ready for dinner. Charlie had made a weekend camping trip of his fishing expedition with Harry, so I was on my own tonight.

I walked into the kitchen and instead of cooking, decided a frozen pizza was more than fine. After I set it in the oven I walked to the rear of the house to transfer some laundry from the washer to the dryer. All the while I was thinking of _him_, how his face had looked that day when he stepped out from behind the trees. He had looked concerned, but not _scared_ like I had been. It was so weird.

After I had finished eating and shooting a few emails off to mom, I decided to check the weather forecast for tomorrow, just for kicks. I was surprised to see that it was actually not supposed to rain, and my mind wondered about the pond, it had been almost a week since I'd run into Jasper there. I wanted to let some time pass before I went back because I was fearful he might have been there. I decided that the odds of me running into Jasper there again were quite slim, and that I would go back. It was too beautiful a place to ignore, and I was willing to share it…with Jasper Hale anyway.

It was quite warm out as I hiked down the trail the next day, I took my jacket off and wrapped it around my waist. The worst part was that it was very muggy, every breath felt more like a drink than fresh air. I had to stop multiple times to catch my breath. I missed the dry heat of Phoenix.

I sighed with relief when I saw the end of the trail and heard the water rushing up ahead. I pushed my way past the trees and emerged on the other side to see Jasper, for the _second_ impossible time. _You've got to be kidding, _I thought. When he saw me he straightened up awkwardly like he'd been waiting for me, rather than another chance meeting.

"We're going to have to work out a schedule or something for this place," he joked. I just kind of stood there, gawking at him. This time wasn't a coincidence. "Are you going to say anything?" he asked after a few moments.

"What- What are you doing here?"

"I…" he hesitated, then something inside him seemed to have given up. "I was curious to see if you were here or not." He was curious to see _me_?

"Why?"

"I don't know," he murmured softly. "I'll leave."

"Jasper, don't be silly, this isn't private property, you don't have to go," I expressed. He didn't answer at first, seemingly debating in his head.

"I _ought_ to go," he admitted though I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or himself. I'd been thinking about this boy for nearly a week and now here he was in front of me and I wasn't so sure I wanted him to be, he was stranger than I would have ever thought.

"Are you alright?" I finally asked, unable to decipher his silence.

"I'm fine, just uncertain," he sighed and suddenly I saw the boy from school, the boy who always stood a few steps away from the rest of his family trying his best to fit in with them.

"Well…" I hesitated, "You could hang out with me if you want." He grinned at me, although there was still a hint of ambiguity.

"I'd think I'd like that," he said solemnly.

We talked for a long time about school. I asked him if he'd miss high school and he grinned wildly, shaking his head. He asked me what classes I wanted to take next year and if I'd found any colleges I was interested in. We discussed the rain and what we liked to do to pass the time indoors, we both liked to read, and Jasper told me about his brother Emmett and their notorious wrestling matches that destroyed his Mother's furniture, she had to buy new tables and couches all the time apparently. I told him about why I moved to Forks in the first place and he laughed at my stories about Renee and Phil.

We talked as if we were old friends, in our serene pond there were no shy awkward moments, no reason to hold anything back.

"So tell me about your family, how did you all end up with the Cullen's?" I asked after we'd chatted a few hours.

"Wow, that's a long story," he guffawed. "Edward was adopted first, many years ago, then Rosalie and Emmett after that, then Alice and I." I scrunched my eyebrows.

"I thought you and Rosalie were twins?" Jasper's face contorted as he searched for an explanation.

"Yes… I don't know what I was thinking, Alice then Emmett, and then Rosalie and I," he rushed.

"And, then everyone just paired up?" I asked timidly. He chuckled some more.

"Well, yes, something like that. I suppose everyone thinks we're a bunch of freaks," he grinned. I flushed nervously, he was right, after all.

"Where did you live before you were adopted?"

"In Texas." His answer was short and direct, it gave me the feeling that he didn't want to talk about it so I changed the subject.

"So, what have you done this summer now that you're a big graduate?"

"Honestly, nothing. It's been very boring," he laughed.

"Me too, I've been working at Newton's some, but that's all," hardly an eventful summer. Though I doubted Forks was capable of anything eventful.

"What, no raging parties with the Forks High crowd?" he mocked astonishment.

"No," I giggled, "Although…Jessica Stanley _is_ having one this weekend. You should come," I encouraged. Everyone always assumed the Cullen's were too stuck up to hang out with anyone but it occurred to me while talking to Jasper that maybe they didn't have friends because no one ever was courteous enough to ask.

"Will you be going?" He said this as if it were a deciding factor. I bobbed my head up and down like an idiot. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt…" he worked it out in his mind, "I guess I could."

"Great, it'll be fun." Were we friends now?

"Well, Bella, I think we better head back, it's going to be dark soon," he pointed out. It was nearly twilight; the grey sky was starting to turn a more purplish shade. I took the in the beauty of our pond once more before gathering my things up.

Jasper walked me back to my truck again, insisting that he didn't feel right about me going by myself. I didn't mind at all.

When I got home I noticed Jake's car in the driveway, I ran in to greet him.

"Hey Bells!" He threw his arms around me in a hug.

"Jeez where have you been Jacob? I haven't seen you in like two weeks," I playfully smacked his arm. Was he taller?

"I've just being doing stuff on the Rez," he ran a hand through his hair, "Me and Dad came up to watch the game with Charlie."

"Where's Alyssa?" I looked around for her, usually at any given time she was at least within 15 feet of Jacob.

"She had to help her grandma out today, where've you been?"

"I was…just hanging out with some friends," I lied immediately wondering why. I never lied to Jake, but something inside me didn't want him to know I'd been with Jasper all day.

"You smell funny," he scrunched his nose.

"Well I've been outside enjoying the day, at least give me a chance to shower before you dish out the insults," I clowned.

Jake and Billy stayed way after the game, we all got the chance to catch up and hang out before Alyssa called signaling it was time for Jake to get back.

"Pretty whipped there Jake," Charlie joked with him. Jake blushed,

"Yeah, yeah. Ha ha."

As I was getting ready for bed that night Jessica called my phone, I answered it already knowing what she was calling for.

"So I'm having a party this Saturday, Mom and Dad are gone."

"I know, Angela told me yesterday."

"Well? Are you going to come?" she asked.

"Yeah, definitely. Um, I was going to ask you…Is it alright if I bring someone?"

"Yes! Who is it?" she demanded. I could literally feel the curiosity seeping through the phone. _Here goes nothing, _I thought.

"Um, Jasper Hale?" Complete silence on the other side of the phone. "Jess?"

"Oh… I'm sorry. I just died of a heart attack!" She proceeded to grill me about my all of a sudden friendship with Jasper. I just told her that I had run into him at Newton's, I didn't want anyone else to know about the pond…it was mine and Jasper's.

"You _have_ to bring him!" she begged, "My party will be legendary if a _Cullen_ shows up!" I rolled my eyes at her through the phone.

"So Saturday…I'll be there," I pushed the conversation along.

"Yeah, you better," she joked and hung up the phone.

I got into bed and fell asleep thinking about Jasper Hale.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: Starry Night_

I'd spent three hours getting ready, I don't think I've ever put that much effort into my appearance. It had occurred to me Saturday afternoon that I had no way of contacting Jasper, no way of knowing whether or not he still intended to come to Jessica's party with me. I assume he didn't because I waited around till seven, and there was no sign of him. I decided to go on to Jess's house thinking maybe he'd be there waiting on me, he wasn't.

"I thought Jasper Hale was coming with you?" Jessica asked sloppily as she opened the door. I could tell that I was fashionably late for this party, everyone had clearly been drinking for a while.

"I think he decided not to come," I responded, trying to hide the disappointment. Jessica laughed and pulled me inside.

"Well it's no surprise, those people are way too stuck up to ever grace anyone with their presence," she snorted and made her way back to the party. I said hello to a few people, I talked to Angela and Ben mostly since they were the only sober ones. Eventually I cut myself away from everyone and walked outside to Jessica's back yard. I sat down on an old swing set and looked up into the sky, it was a beautiful night. I suddenly heard a loud crash inside followed by an uproar of drunken laughter, I shook my head and chuckled.

"Some party," a smooth voice came from behind me. I twisted the swing around towards Jasper, my heart flip flopping at the sight of him.

"I didn't think you were going to show up," I blushed hoping he hadn't heard the relief in my voice. He smiled and shuffled his feet across a patch of grass.

"I wasn't sure if I was, my family didn't want me to," he divulged.

"Why?"

"Not important," he sat in the swing next to me, "I came anyway, I'm tired of them always telling me what to do. I'm the oldest of any of the others, yet they all want to treat me like a child," he rolled his eyes.

"Usually people only do that kind of thing when they love you," I rationalized. He didn't respond. Instead he glanced up at the sky just as I had moments before.

"It's really starry out tonight," he pointed out.

"Yeah, it's a treat since usually there are clouds in the way."

"I like the clouds, the dark ones, the kind that bring thunderstorms."

"Why?" It was odd to learn one's favorite weather was the gloomy kind.

"I don't know, sometimes I'll sit on our back-porch when one is starting, when you can see the lightning forming, warming up…it gets me pumped up, like I can feel the electricity." I just stared at him unnaturally for a second.

"Thunderstorms are cool," I attempted to sound as cool as he had but failed.

"So you're not drinking?" he asked with a grin.

"No, I don't drink."

"That's very mature of you," he smiled.

"Well, I just don't see the point," I motioned towards the house, "Most everyone in there is drinking because they want to turn into somebody else, hoping that they can fake people into thinking they're cool. I think that's destructive, plus it's illegal…my Dad _is_ the sheriff you know."

"How old are you?" he laughed.

"I'm 17 going on 49." We both laughed. We sat there for a few moments in silence, just letting the wind blow our swings around gently. It wasn't awkward though, it was very calm and soothing actually.

"So what are you doing after the party?" he asked finally.

"I'm going home, getting in my pajamas , eating a bowl of ice cream while watching Conan then going to bed," I chanted with fake enthusiasm.

"That doesn't sound very appealing," he remarked.

"Story of my life."

We talked for another hour or so about random things mostly making fun of the noises we heard coming from inside. Angela and Ben emerged during one of our conversations,

"Bella," Angela's voice squeaked off when she saw I was sitting next to Jasper.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Oh, I- I was just going to tell you that the weather channel just gave out a severe thunderstorm warning, so Ben and I are leaving," she explained. I looked at the crystal clear sky.

"Uh, well I guess I'll see you all later. I'm going to take my chances and stick here for a while."

"Ok, well have fun," she shot an amused glance towards Jasper, then back to me. We stayed outside, continuing our conversation about the pond and how peaceful it was. Suddenly a clap of thunder erupted directly overhead, followed by crack of lightening.

"You're favorite!" I teased him. The first few raindrops hit us as we made a run for the house.

After I'd said all my goodbyes (which took longer than expected since I now had to explain to everyone why I was leaving with Jasper Hale) the rain was falling full blast. We stood on Jessica's porch for a moment.

"Jeez, it's really coming down" I yelled nervously over another round of thunder.

"Don't worry," Jasper settled as if feeling my nervousness, "I'll follow you home to make sure you get there safely."

I hated driving in the rain, especially in my truck. The fact that the severe thunderstorm was raging all around me didn't help my stress. Jasper followed through with his promise and followed me home though, which made feel at ease. When I finally got there he even walked me to the porch. Charlie still wasn't back from fishing, I wondered briefly if it had rained on him.

"Thanks for following me home," I told him as I unlocked the front door. I pushed it open and flicked the light switch, only for the power to be out.

"Just great," I whimpered.

"Do you have flashlights?" Jasper asked, following me into the house.

"No," I muttered, "The only flashlight we have is with Charlie."

"Well I trust you have matches, or some sort of lighter?"

"Yeah," I said fumbling my way to the kitchen; I only tripped over three items before getting there. I grabbed some matches and went around the house trying to find as many candles as I could. I took them into the living room and spread them out across the coffee table.

"Why are you shaking?" Jasper asked as my hand shook over each wick, trying to light it.

"I'm terrified of the dark," I admitted.

"Is your father working tonight or something?"

"No, he's on a camping trip…" I shuddered knowing I'd be alone.

"You know, there really isn't anything too scary about the dark."

"Typical response from a non dark-fearer," I smirked, making him laugh. I watched him in the dim light of the candles. He didn't seem so pale in this light, it made him look very warm and gorgeous. More thunder cracked outside, bringing my thought away from him and making me shudder.

"I'm sorry I never got to know you better during school," he mumbled into the darkness.

"It's okay, I didn't put forth any effort either, so no harm."

"I like spending time with you," he smiled, "I haven't had a friend to talk to besides my family in a long time.

"Why is that?" I wondered.

"Probably because we try not to get attached to places, sometimes we move around a lot." His voice sounded troubled.

"Sometimes?"

"Well, sometimes we just pick up and move, no warnings no goodbyes…" he explained. I felt a strange panic at the thought of never seeing him again.

"Why would you do that?" I asked.

"I guess that's just our style."

"That's a weird style."

"We're weird people, though everyone in town seems to know that already," he chuckled. Another crack of thunder echoed across the sky causing me to yelp.

"Good lord, Bella," Jasper gleamed, "Here…" he got up and sat down on the couch next to me, "Sit on the floor in front of me." I looked at him wildly. "Trust me," he smiled. Honestly he probably could have asked me to go outside and shake a metal stick in the lightning and I would have, his grin was luminescent. I slid off the couch and sat down in front of him, my back against the couch, between his legs. I gulped.

"Relax," he whispered. I felt his hands brush against my shoulders, sending shockwaves down my spine. His caress was light, barely touching me yet the sensation felt solid and strong. I let out a long sigh, completely forgetting the storm outside, my body flooding with calmness and relief.

"Better?"

"How did you do that?" I breathed.

"I'm good like that," I heard his warm chuckle. I had a tee shirt and a hoodie on, but I couldn't stop myself from wandering what this would feel like skin to skin. My senses suddenly filled with a different emotion and Jasper pulled his hands away.

I cleared my throat, "Uh, thank…thanks," I pulled my hoodie a little tighter and sat down on the couch, maybe a little closer to him than I should have.

"So why are you hanging out with me now if you are trying not to get attached to Forks, you know, in case you all pick and move?" I asked directing the conversation back to earlier.

"I don't really know," he seemed torn, "I'm drawn to you," he whispered quietly, I had to strain to hear him.

"What do you mean?"

"It sounds crazy, but, you've changed everything I ever thought about myself." _Crazy indeed. _"You think I'm insane," he grinned.

"I don't believe that I can cause that kind of realization in a person," I dissented.

"Well you underestimate yourself."

"Well, if you're drawn to me…does that mean I'll see more of you?" I asked hoping he'd say yes.

"I shouldn't…" he mumbled.

"Why?"

"I'm not a good person Bella," he uttered with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. I laughed sarcastically.

"You seem nice enough to me."

"Well I'm not," he retorted. He breathed in heavily as if he were trying to smell something that wasn't there. "I'm sorry Bella, I should be going." He stood up and began walking towards the door.

"But the storm…" I called out to him as if he had some obligation to stay and take care of me. I pulled my gaze away from him, embarrassed.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he soothed then walked out, leaving me utterly confused.

Several days passed and I heard nothing from him. Not that he had a duty to call or anything. I'd gone back to the pond several times, hoping to find him there, but he wasn't. Eventually I gave up, knowing that I'd done something or said something that had pushed him away. Typical of me.

I started going down to La Push again, I was tired of hiking. Jake and Alyssa were good company, when I could find him. Usually I'd go to his house and Alyssa would be there, but Jake would be gone. One day I walked down to La Push Beach on my own, wanting to be alone.

I'd gotten about halfway to the docks when I heard a familiar voice call my name. I turned around to see Quil Atera running up to me.

"Bella! Long time no see," he smiled when he caught up to me, falling into step by my side.

"How are you?" I asked trying to hide the fact that I'd been trying to be alone.

"I'm good, what are you doing in these parts?"

"Well I was coming to hang out with Jake…" I trailed off, _lotta success that had been. _

"Yeah right," Quil laughed bitterly, "No one see's the almighty brat pack."

"What?" I stopped and looked at him.

"Jake's been hanging out with Sam Ulley and his cult, I don't see him anymore, or Embry for that matter," he explained.

"Embry Call?" I'd remembered a few months ago when Jake had told me that Embry wasn't his friend anymore, that something had happened to him. Changed him. "The same thing happened to Jacob?" I asked.

"I guess… I don't really know what happened to either of them, but they're both following Sam around lately." Quil shoved his hands in his pockets. So _that's_ why I hadn't been able to track down Jake recently. I was extremely angry…Jacob never kept things from me…and Quil! Poor Quil, Embry and Jake had been his best friends, how could they do this to him?

"Well what are they up to? Is he in like…a _gang_ or something?"

"I have no clue, they don't even talk to me at school anymore, not they show up half the time anyway," he said.

"Thanks for telling me Quil…it was good seeing you." I said goodbye and walked back to my truck, driving to Jake's house.

I walked through the Black's front door, and immediately saw Jacob sitting on his couch, arm wrapped around Alyssa.

"Hey Bells," he said casually.

"I ran into Quil Atera earlier," I revealed. Jacob took his arm away from Alyssa, who looked very uncomfortable.

"So?" Jacob asked darkly.

"Can we talk alone please," I begged. Alyssa only looked slightly offended as she walked out of the room.

"What Bella?"

"I haven't seen you a lot this summer, you've been blowing me off quite a bit," I stung.

"Come on Bella, I've been busy this summer, that's all," Jake rolled his eyes.

"Busy with Sam Ulley?" I challenged, pulling a not so nice expression from Jacob.

"Stop it Bella. You don't want to go down this road…you aren't going to like what you find."

"Jake! We're friends, we don't keep secrets from each other," I reminded him.

"Bella, I can't talk about this with you," he sat back down with a jerk. I sat down beside him and gently placed my arm on his shoulder.

"Jake you can talk to me about anything, I'm your best friend, that's more than I can say for Sam, who just gives you a bunch of secrets to keep."

"_Can_ you tell me anything?" he asked harshly.

"Of course."

"Then why didn't you tell me you've been hanging out with a Cullen?" I pulled myself back, shocked.

"What? Why does that matter?"

"I don't want you talking to him anymore," Jake commanded. My jaw dropped at his gall.

"You're kidding…"

"No I'm not, and if you know what's good for you you'll listen to me." I knew that for some reason people from La Push didn't like the Cullen family. In fact Charlie had told me once that the people on the Reservation wouldn't even go to the hospital where Dr. Cullen worked anymore.

"Look, I don't know what you people have against the Cullen's but they aren't bad people, you don't know anything about them," I shot.

"Bella they're…God, I can't tell you!" Jake spewed. "Get out of here Bella," he growled through clenched teeth.

"What?"

"Just go home." Then he turned his back towards me, walking through the kitchen and slamming the back door. Alyssa came back in, looking just as surprised as I was. I glanced at her awkwardly before going back to my truck and heading back to Forks.

I felt completely alone.

_Author's Note__: Thanks for all the story alert subscriptions, reviews, and favoritizing! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4: Move In This Direction_

The Cullens had moved.

Jacob was happy about that. When I called to tell him he cheered with a loud "Good Riddance." I didn't tell him or anyone else that I cried when I had found out. I felt stupid, really, _crying_ over some guy that I barely even knew because I was so captivated by him. I'd only made myself aware of him a few weeks ago.

I wished that I could relive the night he'd been at my house over and over. He had told me that he was drawn to me. What I didn't tell him at the time was that I was drawn to him too. But now I'd never get the chance. He had told me his family sometimes moved without warning, but I guess that _was_ his warning. Was I supposed to have said something? Would anything I said have changed his mind? I didn't think so.

"It's for the best Bella, trust me," Jacob said over the phone.

"Jake what is it that gets you so upset with them? Not that it matters now…"

"Are you sure they're gone for good?"

"Yep." A hefty sigh of relief came from his end of the phone. I rolled my eyes.

"They're monsters Bella, maybe one day I'll be able to tell you the truth."

"Today?"

"No."

"Fine, I have to be at work anyway," I huffed.

Since the Cullens left I'd become obsessed with them. I'd asked everyone about them, but they were still a mystery to me. They were a mystery to everyone. This is what I thought about most, the fact that nobody really knew anything about them other than how they went camping when it was nice, how they didn't talk to anyone, and how apparently they just picked up and moved at random. For a family of seven people, five of which were teenagers, they sure could keep a secret. But what secret- or secrets- were they hiding from everyone?

I was thinking about them on my shift, I hadn't realized I'd been sweeping the same isle for over an hour.

"Bella, are you alright dear?" Mrs. Newton asked cheerfully.

"Oh, yeah…sorry, I guess my mind is somewhere else today."

"Oh that's alright, I was wondering if you'd do me a favor?"

"Sure, of course."

"Well we're about to close and there's a customer that's been standing at the backpacks for over an hour…could you go over there and hurry up the sale? I'd do it but, let's be honest I don't know jack squat about this stuff," she chuckled. I smiled back at her as I went to the back room to put away my broom and dustpan. I always hated the days it was just me and Mrs. Newton working…I actually had to work. She was right when she said she didn't know jack about outdoor equipment, the problem was neither did I.

I walked over to the backpack display anyways, thinking about all the things that Mr. Newton usually said to customers. Everything I planned to say would sound stupid coming from my mouth, usually I just babbled until customers found someone else to ask. I turned the corner in aisle three and nearly knocked Jim, our outdoorsy-type mannequin, over when I saw _him_ standing there.

"Jasper?" I called out and he turned promptly to face me.

"Bella, I was just…picking out a backpack," he turned his body to the display and gently patted a few hopeful backpacks.

"A backpack."

"Well, you were the one to point out that I had a serious lack of gear while hiking," he chuckled warmly.

"They all said you moved," I wasn't even trying to hide the desperate need for a reason to why he left me in my voice.

"We did, but…I came back, I didn't like being away from you," he glanced at me through his thick lashes.

"You just left…" I whispered, "You didn't call, or email, or _anything_. I thought we were friends," I could feel the emotional tears forming within.

"I'm sorry Bella, really, I wanted to stay all along but I let them talk me into leaving, they said things would be better for you that way, but a few days of being there…without talking to you or knowing what you were doing, I had to come back," he quickly explained.

"Does it even matter? I mean it's not like you're staying," I may have said too harshly. He looked down at his feet, shuffling them back and forth.

"I am staying…if you promise we can be friends again," his voice sounded like melted butter.

"What about your family?" I knew Jasper had issues with his brothers and sisters but he never spoke ill of Carlisle and his wife.

"I can explain everything," he slowed me down, "But in a more appropriate setting. When does your shift end?"

"Um, well unless you actually intend to buy a backpack…then right now I suppose." Jasper chuckled as he picked up a black light-weight Hiker's Dream Backpack. I rung him up and said goodnight to Mrs. Newton, then walked outside to the nearly empty parking lot.

"Where is your car?" I asked looking around.

"It's at the house, would you mind taking me back?" he asked politely in that tone of his that no one could ever possibly say no to.

"Well, technically it's not your house anymore," I warned, "Couldn't you get into trouble?" Jasper just laughed.

"Technically it _is_ my house," he smiled, "I bought it from Carlisle." My mouth gaped open at his statement. He owned a house now? He was only, what, eighteen? Surely Dr. Cullen had given it to him at what I like to call the "parent price" you know like when your parent will "sell" you the old family car for two dollars or something ridiculous like that. Yeah, that's what it was. It had to be.

"So you have your own house now…that's very impressive," I commented. Jasper just shrugged in response. "So, Jasper, why did you come back to Forks?"

"All in good time," he assured me.

"You're stalling," I pointed out, "You know the longer you stall the more difficult telling the truth becomes."

"I'm not stalling," he retorted, "I can't risk anyone hearing me." He looked around defensively and I followed his gaze all around the parking lot.

"I'm pretty sure we're the only ones out here, but, whatever you say," I unlocked my truck and slid in, he followed suit. I wasn't really surprised by his secrecy because his family was notorious for it. I suppose I should've been a little worried, but when I was with Jasper I found it difficult to worry about anything. When I first saw him in the store I'd been overcome with relief, but I wasn't about to let him know that just yet.

I followed his meticulous directions until we started up a long winding driveway, when we finally got to the house itself I was stunned. In my wildest dreams I couldn't have pictured a more beautiful home. The way it lit up the land surrounding it was magnificent.

"Fuck _me_…" I blabbed causing an eruption of laughter from Jasper whom I'd almost forgotten was in the truck.

"Shall we go inside Bella?" he invited and I practically melted in my seat. The inside of the house was beautiful and well decorated just as expected. Tyler's mom had been right when she'd said the Cullen's had left everything in place.

Jasper sat down on the couch looking very uneasy. After only a few seconds he stood back up and walked to one of the plated windows.

"I'm good at asking questions," I said softly.

"What do you mean?" he turned to look at me, his honey colored eyes were darker than they'd been last time I'd seen him.

"I just mean that, if you don't know where to start then maybe I could ask you some questions that have been on my mind, just to get you started," I explained.

"That doesn't sound half bad," he smiled a little more brightly and sat down beside me on the couch. "Ask away."

"Well, for starters, why did you guys leave so suddenly?"

"Ah, well, I suppose you can thank your Quileute friends for that," he muttered. My _Quileute_ friends? What the hell did they have to do with anything. I wasn't so sure that I appreciated Jasper assuming anything about Jake, or the rest of the tribe for that matter. Jasper seemed to notice the change in my emotion.

"You…don't know, do you?" he asked slowly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I mean I know they have some weird beef with you guys but it's just their superstition, just some ancient fable."

"Do you know anything about that fable?" he asked seriously.

"No…but I suppose it's just because of how different you all are."

"How are we different?" he looked somewhere between amused and concerned.

"Well, your family is so private, so secretive like you're in the mob or something. And, well, you all look different," I blushed feverishly.

"Go on…" okay now he was just amused.

"You all are unreasonably…gorgeous." I couldn't look him in the eye.

"I suppose that's part of it, but this fable is very complicated, very deep on many levels," he insisted.

"Tell me."

"I can't tell you any Quileute legends Bella, they aren't mine to tell and I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the repercussions either," he said.

"Well just tell me what your family has to do with it," I begged. I was on the edge of the couch with anticipation.

"I suppose…" he wondered, "It all began with Carlisle, I wasn't with them yet. Carlisle lived here in…Forks…many years ago. He made a treaty with an elder from the Quileute tribe that we'd never go onto their land, and we haven't ever since, we're very unwelcome."

"So how long ago…I mean Carlisle is only 30 or something?" I urged.

"A very, very long time ago."

"You know, for someone who wanted to 'explain everything' you're being very cryptic," I spat. He sighed deeply.

"I know, but there are just so many rules I'm breaking," he whimpered.

"Jasper, I know we haven't been friends very long but you can trust me with anything. I'll take all your secrets to the grave, and you have my word on that," I assured him.

"Alright, but you have to promise me that no matter what I say you'll stay here with me and not run away, okay?"

"I won't ever run from you." I wondered if he knew just how serious I was when I said that.

"Where the treaty is concerned, I believe it was made at least over a century ago."

"Jasper I don't want to play games," I let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's not a joke Bella!" his tone was definitely serious.

"I don't understand," I mumbled.

"I'm not eighteen," he muttered, so low I could barely hear him.

"Okay…how old are you then?" I was trying to figure this out, but every time I tried to make sense of what he was telling me I failed.

"Well, realistically I'm 20, I just tell everyone I'm 18 so I can blend better, but technically I'm honing in on 170 years old," he winced as he waited for my reaction. There wasn't one, I honestly did not know how to feel about this piece of information. I kept looking at him waiting for a giggle, or some evidence of a joke, but his face was serious, dead serious.

"This is impossible," I breathed.

"It's not impossible when you're…like me."

"What are you talking about?" I was starting to hyperventilate.

"I'm…I'm a vampire."

"You're a what?" this had to be a joke.

"Feel my skin," he stuck his hand out for me to touch. I slowly inched my fingers towards his and made contact. His skin felt like smooth stone, it was ice cold like he'd just dived into the Arctic Ocean.

"I saw you in school, in daytime," I tried to reason to convince myself that this wasn't real, that he was playing a mean trick on me.

"It's the sun that shows us for what we truly are…why do you think we chose to live in a place where it is sunny only fifteen to twenty days out of the year?" he asked. I stared at him, his eyes that were such an odd color, but not an immortal color.

"So you don't melt?"

"No, but we do look different, people would know."

"This is a lot…this is a lot," I stammered. "You're a vampire."

"Yes…are you alright, should we go outside for air?"

"Air…"

He grasped my arms and led me out onto the balcony. The fresh air felt nice, but it was no relief from the tornado spinning around my brain.

"How can you live like this, around the very humans that you…drink?" I asked.

"We don't feed on human blood, we only feed on animals. It makes us less of a monster and more human feeling. That's why my eyes are this color."

"Okay. You're a vampire. Okay."

"I know this is a lot of information Bella, would you like me to take you home?" he asked sympathetically.

"No, I'm- I still have more questions." Jasper smiled to himself.

"Fire at will."

"Why did you come back?" This had originally been my first question, I kind of wished I'd have started out with it now.

"I came back because of you. In all my years with Carlisle I've never been able to control my thirst, I've always been tempted by the scent of human blood," he paused to make sure I hadn't fled off in terror. "When I met you in the forest that first day…I resisted you. I still smelled your blood, and it smelled divine but I didn't want to drink you, I was drawn to you and I have been every moment since," he finished.

"I'm glad you came back Jasper," I placed my hand gently over his on the railing of the balcony. We stared at each other for a long time, just standing there in the cool night breeze.

_Author's Note: Hey everyone, so sorry it's been a while since my last update but it's mid-term week at school, so things have been hectic this week. Anyway, thanks for all the great comments and alert subscriptions. I'll try to keep pumping the chapters out this week to make it up to everyone that's been waiting. Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5: It's Complicated_

I woke up around 9am the next morning on Jasper's couch completely alone. I didn't remember falling asleep, but I must have been exhausted. I thought for a moment that maybe everything that had happened last night was a dream, and that our conversation was just a figment, but that was hard to validate since I was sitting in the Cullen's house. _Charlie, _I knew he had to be worried sick when I didn't come home last night. I searched for my cell phone.

"Dad, hey it's me," I said apologetically into the phone.

"Oh hey Bells, where've you been?" he seemed in good enough spirits.

"I, uh, spent the night with Jessica. I'm sorry I didn't call, I completely forgot."

"That's okay, you can stay another night if you want, I'm heading to the lake again with Harry," he explained. So that's why he was in a good mood.

"Oh, well, okay. I might stay another night…" I looked around knowing I could stay in this house forever.

"Whatever you want to do, I'll call you later okay?" Charlie hung up the phone. That was easy enough, I laid back down on the couch and drifted back to sleep.

When I woke up again Jasper was sitting in a chair reading.

"Good afternoon," he smiled.

"Hey," I mumbled, "Sorry I slept so long."

"It's fine, you seemed very tired." Jasper actually made me breakfast. He'd been at the grocery store when I had woken up earlier.

"So, I'm guessing all the stories you told people are false?" I wondered.

"Most of them."

"Can I get an example?" I asked.

"Well, for one thing Rosalie and I aren't related…at all, trust me," he laughed.

"You said you were from Texas…how did you find Dr. Cullen?"

"I was at a diner, and Alice walked in, came right up to my booth and pretty much told me to come with her, so we traveled to Alaska, where Carlisle was living, and just moved in."

"How did Alice know you?"

"She didn't…Alice can see things, she can see the future more or less, she'd seen visions of her living with Carlisle, but she had also seen me coming with her. She's very convincing. If I was going to have a sister, Alice would come closest," he smiled.

"If Alice can see the future did she see that we were going to become friends?"

"Sort of, when you first moved to Forks Alice kept seeing blurred visions of you, we weren't sure of the meaning. Then, when Edward couldn't read your mind we all got a little nervous-"

"Read my mind?" I really needed to start considering that every single fairytale was true.

"Yes, my brother Edward can hear thoughts, I'm scaring you aren't I?" he winced a little.

"No, does everyone in your family have special abilities?" I wondered what his would be.

"Well, I can sense the emotions of people around me, sometimes, with enough concentration I can manipulate people to feel whatever I want," he explained cheerfully.

"Can you sense _my_ emotions?" maybe if his brother couldn't read my mind then he could read my emotions. I thought back to every time I'd seen him and gotten giddy or excited. How humiliating.

"Yes," _damn_, "I really can't help it." He seemed apologetic like he knew what I had been feeling all those times. Then it occurred to me that he could probably feel my embarrassment now. _Great_.

"You said you were nervous about me…why?" I tried to change the subject, the last thing I needed was a vampire knowing that my heart flip flopped anytime he was near.

"Mainly because that had never happened to Edward before, we were worried that you were different somehow, that maybe you could be a threat but eventually we realized that you weren't so it was fine, though he was still very put out," he chuckled a little.

"A threat? What kind of threat could I be to you?" I laughed out loud at the idea.

"Well every now and then someone realizes what we are, and we have to move but you didn't pay attention to us at all, it was quite shocking. Most people stare and talk about us constantly, but not you."

"I know what it's like for everyone to think you're a freak, and I don't talk about people behind their backs anyway."

"That's why I like you Bella, you're so different." Like I hadn't heard that before, but it sounded nice coming from him just the same. "Would you like to go hiking today?" he asked politely. I glanced at the time, it was nearly one o'clock.

"It's awfully late don't you think?" I assumed he wanted to hike to the pond, a journey that at best takes like three hours. I felt a little guilty for sleeping so long.

"If you trust me, I'm certain we can make it a very short trip." Oh, I trusted him.

I quickly got dresses and we headed out, I noticed that I had several missed calls from Jake, but I didn't care enough to respond. Jake was keeping things from me, we don't keep secrets.

"What are you thinking about?" Jasper asked as we drove out to the trail.

"My friend Jacob, I'm angry with him."

"Why?"

"He's obviously keeping things from me, I don't like secrets. Secrets complicate everything," I explained.

"Well, it's a complicated situation," he defended Jake, "It's not like he's keeping something simple from you, this is pretty serious stuff."

"I suppose, I guess it's just the realization that…" I trailed off not wanting to say it.

"What?" he urged.

"The realization that no matter how close I get to someone, they still keep things from me."

"For your own good…" he added.

"No," I disagreed, "I don't care what Jake tells me, he can tell me he killed someone for all I care, I'd still love him like family."

The rest of the car ride was silent until we pulled up to the trail. Jasper got out of the truck and I hopped out as well following close behind me.

"I don't keep things from you," he said, though I wasn't sure what he meant by it.

"I know…and I appreciate that about you," I replied.

"Good. So, do you trust me or not?" he smirked.

"I trust you as of right now," I answered fairly. Jasper handed me my backpack and I slipped it on while watching him curiously, _what was he up to?_

"Get on my back," he told me as he turned around and squatted down a little so I could climb up.

"What?"

"I told you I could make our trip significantly shorter, but you have to trust me," now he was full blown amused.

"Okay…" I hopped on his back and then everything was a blur. Like, literally a blur. I knew he was running but all I could see was the greens and browns of the forest whizzing by as if we were driving 150 miles an hour down the highway. Needless to say, we got to the pond in record time, it felt like minutes.

"That was insane," I breathed as I tried to steady my nausea.

"Yeah, one of the benefits of immortality," Jasper laughed. When he was happy I noticed his Texan accent more. "Bella I'm so glad there are no secrets between us anymore. I honestly can't remember the last time I've had an actual friend that wasn't in my family."

"Glad I could help," I was still clutching my stomach. I walked over to the rock and positioned myself comfortably on top of it. A gust of wind sprayed some of the mist from the waterfall over my face. I shivered in response.

"Are you cold?" Jasper asked taking his jacket off and wrapping it around me.

"I'm- I'm okay," I blushed furiously. It was silent for a long time as we listened to the sound of the water filling the clearing. "I want to live here," I said softly.

"Hmm, well you don't strike me as the type to live off the land," he joked. I playfully punched him in the arm, knowing he probably didn't feel it.

"I want to build a cabin…right over there," I pointed to the spot as I hopped down off the rock to run over there. "Come here," I motioned to him. Within a second he was by my side.

"This would be the front door, made completely out of mahogany wood," I outlined a door with my arms then stepped forward. "You'll walk into a cozy yet spacious living room, all hardwood floors. There'll be a hand built stone fireplace right here," I pointed, "And over here a tiny kitchen with oak cabinets to match the floor."

"It sounds beautiful but…" he trailed off.

"But what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"But…surely you don't plan to live out here alone?" he asked. I blushed again.

"Well no, someone will be here with me, I just…" I awkwardly turned my body away from him and my ankle got caught on a root sticking out of the ground, yeah, I fell flat on my ass.

"Are you okay?" he laughed hysterically. _Oh I'm fine, just let me pick up the shards of my ego._

"Yeah, great," I muttered as he helped me up on my feet.

"Maybe we should step outside the cabin for a moment?" he giggled, "Lots of obstacles in here."

We walked back over to the edge of the pond and sat down. Jasper looked out over the water and I watched him. I wondered if he could feel how close to him I felt, how completely flawless I thought he was.

"What were you like before you were a vampire?" I asked without thinking.

"Um, it's a long story Bella," he shifted nervously.

"You can tell me anything, I really want to know," I pushed.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I guess it's just because I wish…I wish I'd known you, back then, when you were human. I bet you were so different," I guessed.

"Well what do you want to know specifically?"

"Everything, everything you can remember up until right now," I requested.

"It's a long story…" he cautioned.

"I've got plenty of time Jasper."

_Author's Note: I'm going to end this chapter here because I want to use Jasper's POV for his background sequence. I feel like it's been a while since I updated so thanks for keeping up with me and I'm sorry it's been a hot minute. _


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: So I had this whole long spill about Jasper's past and so on, then I realized after reading it for about the fifteenth time that it's exactly like the book, so I cut it. You all know about Jasper, he is our favorite Cullen after all, I decided you guys didn't need to read a five paragraph monologue of something you've heard a hundred times. Enjoy the better albeit shortened version. _

_Chapter 6: Stay_

Jasper's POV

I'd told her everything. I divulged every detail of my life that I could remember. I'd even shown her my scars and she didn't flinch, her emotion didn't change at all. She'd caressed my arms with her unthinkably soft, warm hands. I knew she noticed my expression, it was one I was used to wearing, disgust. Whenever I thought back to…that life, I was so ashamed of myself. I suppose my punishment was all these scars, a constant reminder of the pain and suffering I caused others and myself.

"I know what you're thinking," she said softly, "Or at least I can guess. You're ashamed, embarrassed by your past perhaps." I nodded.

"I did horrible things Bella, I'll never be able to put into words all the things I've done," I tried to pull my arms away from her, I didn't deserve her touch but she grasped them harder to let me know she wanted me to keep them there.

"Yes, I'm sure you have. But the important thing is that you changed, you did something to stop it. Most people would lose faith and just give themselves over to their demons, but not you. That cancels out your past," she soothed and I truly believe she meant it.

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"You're my best friend," I whispered hoarsely. I'd never felt more alive and I desperately wanted to tell her how I really felt. _You're my best friend, and I love you more than I've ever loved anything or anyone. _I was such a coward.

"It's dark, we should head back before someone sends out a search party for you," I tried to make my voice lighter but failed.

We made it back to her truck in record time, we were both being very quiet and I desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. Bella's emotions were always all over the place, by the time I actually grasped what she was feeling it would immediately change. It was maddening, how could she live with all of those emotions?

I pulled into her empty driveway.

"Is your father still fishing?"

"Yeah," she laughed, "Our freezer of fish has dwindled to only a five year supply."

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" I asked blatantly.

"Um…" she shifted uncomfortably and glanced around.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," I couldn't believe I'd been so forward with her. What the hell was I thinking?

"Well, it's just I haven't changed clothes and I need a shower."

"Of course, well I'll just go on home," I tried to shield my disappointment from her.

"Jasper, if you want, you can hang out here with me, we could watch movies or something?"

"I'd, like that."

Bella immediately went upstairs for a change of clothes and a shower. I sat down on the couch, clicking through the channels trying to find something that she'd like. The whole time I had a horrible feeling, my natural instinct was telling me something was about to happen. When Bella came down from her shower though any bad feelings were erased and I went back to being calm. She smelled too good for anything bad to happen.

"I suppose you aren't hungry?" she asked smiling.

"No, but by the sound your stomach is making I guess you are."

"Oh! You can hear that can't you?" she blushed furiously clutching her tummy. "I'm just going to go whip up something to eat. I'll be right back." I smiled as I watched her cross the foyer to the kitchen.

Several minutes had passed when I heard Bella utter "Oh crap" seconds before I heard a car pull into the driveway. I stood up quickly,

"Is it your father?" I asked straightening out my clothes as if we had been up to something.

"No worse," she said as she came to the foyer, pulling the blinds so I could see out. A young boy, who I could only assume was Jacob Black emerged from a beat up car looking very pissed off.

"God, why is he here? Does he know that you're a…"

"Yes he knows everything, I thought I smelled something…"

"What?"

"He's been following you. He's very angry with me for spending time with you." I felt very protective of Bella I didn't want her around and angry Werewolf even but I couldn't explain it to her, I couldn't be the one to tell her that her precious Jacob was a mongrel.

Jacob banged on the door quite forcefully. Bella looked at me for a moment before opening it, when she did Jacob stormed past her and walked right up to me.

"You need to leave, you filthy leech," he pointed his finger in my face which I didn't appreciate but I couldn't lose it in front of Bella. I locked into his anger and slowly tried to bring him down to a more suitable level.

"I know you're upset about me spending time with Bella," he scoffed at this.

"Yeah, damn straight asshole." Oh this was going to be difficult.

"I assure you, I'm in full compliance with your ridiculous treaty." Instead of lashing out at me he turned to Bella frantically.

"He told you?" he asked her, then turned back to me, "You son of a bitch!" Uh-oh, his anger was on the rise again.

"Jake, he didn't tell me anything about you. All he said was that he wasn't allowed on Quileute land. That's all Jake I swear," Bella blurted out.

"Oh yeah? Not allowed on our land… did he also tell you that this little _thing_ you two have going on is in violation of the treaty?" he looked at me with malice.

"That's bullshit and you know it," I pointed out taking a step closer to him. He wasn't the only one who could shove fingers around in people's faces.

"Can everyone just come clean here?" Bella prompted losing patience with us.

"I'm not in any violation," I was speaking to her more than I was to him, "The treaty states that we can't go on their land and we can't harm a human, as you can see, no one is in danger."

"Pwah!" he scoffed, "Not in danger? Just being in 50 foot proximity is danger! I'm surprised you haven't killed her already!" _Enough is enough_.

"And I suppose it's safe for her to be around _you_? With your juvenile and uncontrollable temper? The safest place for you is in a backyard with a shock collar," I spat and could feel his temperature rising.

"STOP!" Bella screamed. "Jacob what's going on? Is there something you need to tell me?" her voice was soft, but I could tell she was getting angrier with him by the second.

"I can't tell you. Bella just please trust me, we've been friends a lot longer than you and this…loser. You have to believe me when I say that you can't hang out with him anymore."

"Jacob, if you can't tell me what's really been going on with you this summer then…well, then you're just going to have to leave. Jasper is a good friend and I'm not in danger with him. You're the only person who doesn't seem to get it."

"Bella please!" he begged.

"Go home Jacob," Bella opened the door so he could exit. He hung his head as he passed her, then shot a glance at me.

"I'm not finished with you leech."

"Oh I'm looking forward to it," I retorted.

"Wait," he held the door from Bella, then looked at me, a different emotion flooding him. "She means so much to me, just tell her." Then he was gone. Leaving both Bella and I confused.

"I don't understand…is he a vampire too?" Bella asked, but I was still watching Jacob leave. "She means so much to me…" I understood what he meant. To have Bella and then lose her, well, I couldn't even imagine. Why leave me to do the dirty work though? Why couldn't he just tell her that he was a shape shifter? I was very biased about the wolves, the last thing I'd want if I were him was a vampire telling my stories.

"Jasper?"

"I'll be right back," I assured her as I raced out the door to catch up to Jacob. It didn't take me long, all I had to do was either follow his odor or the odor of his incredibly smelly vehicle. I got ahead of him about a mile and just stood in the middle of the road until he slammed on his brakes.

"You have some nerve, I should run you over," he said through clenched teeth.

"Trust me, it wouldn't do any damage."

"What the fuck do you want Cullen?"

"If you care about her so much then you need to tell her about this, I don't have very many nice things to say about…your kind, I think it would be better for you and Bella if you told her."

"What do you care? You get her all to yourself now."

"I care about Bella, and I know she cares about you. It nearly broke her heart asking you to leave. I'm not going to fight with you because I know it would only hurt her but still, you need to tell her what you are."

"God what is it with you people? What part of 'I Can't' can you not understand?" he yelled.

"Why can't you? I didn't think you were _that_ much of a coward," I snapped.

"I'm not a damned coward," he got out of the car, "I'm forbidden by my pack leader to tell anyone about us, even Bella. It's hardwired into my brain, every time I try to tell her my mind goes blank, don't you see? I literally cannot say it to her."

"I see…Still, I don't want trouble with you mu- with your pack, isn't there another way?"

"Not right now, you're going to have to tell her, I can't stand hurting her like this. Don't worry about the pack, they won't bother you. I'll make sure they understand, it'll fall on me."

"Okay, I'll try."

"Don't think this lets you off the hook bloodsucker, I still don't want you hanging out with her." I rolled my eyes.

"Jacob," it was hard to be sincere with him, "I'm a vampire and you're a werewolf, I get that. However at one time I was a good and decent human, just like you and your pack. I didn't choose this life, if it were up to me I'd be under a grave right now but I can't change things."

"Well…" he cleared his throat, unsure of what to say to me, "I'm, I'm sorry about how things, you know, turned out for you." He turned to go back to his vehicle.

"I'm in love with her," I blurted out.

"With Bella?" his eyes widened.

"She makes me feel human again, she's changed me and I hope you realize that I'm not going to leave her until she's sick of looking at me and sends me away."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later," he said sarcastically then sighed heavily. "Bella's my best friend, all I want for her is to be happy but you have to realize that as long as you're here…I have to hate you."

"I kind of understand that, yes."

"If you hurt her I will kill you."

"If I hurt her, I'll let you." For a moment we understood each other and he got back into his car and drove off. I ran back to Bella's house, unsure of what I was going to tell her.

_A/N: Okay so I'm going to switch back to Bella pov. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and as always I really appreciate you reading. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7: You Found Me_

Watching Jacob walk out the door had been difficult for me, I wasn't accustomed to being mean, especially to my Jacob. On the other hand, I also wasn't accustomed to him keeping secrets from me and treating me like a child. When Jasper chased after him though, I had to admit that I was fearful. I don't like drama, I've never been theatrical and this was getting out of hand. I was just happy that Charlie wasn't here to see it.

I was sitting on the couch when Jasper came back through the door.

"You didn't kill him did you?" I stood up quickly, praying that everyone was safe.

"Of course not Bella, he means too much to you for me to harm him."

"Okay, so what happened then?"

"Well aside from the fact that he hates me with a fiery passion of hell…" Jasper smiled jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah, that part I gathered."

"I'm going to tell you why he's been acting so weird towards you lately, um, you may want to sit down," Jasper dragged me onto the couch.

"Oh God, he's not _sick_ is he?" I immediately started hating myself for being so hateful to him.

"Well, not technically, though if I had his affliction I'd probably kill myself," he laughed. Laughed! This wasn't a joke to me.

"Jasper, please."

"Okay," he sighed "Jacob is a werewolf." Just like that, Jacob is a werewolf. _Okay_. Three days ago this would've been a dream to me, I would have woken up and said to myself "I need to stop watching so much TV before bed," but this wasn't three days ago, this was today. Jasper was a vampire and Jacob was a werewolf.

I stood up and walked to the phone, then changed my mind. I turned to Jasper and stared at him for a good minute.

"Anything else?" I asked curtly.

"Pardon?"

"Is there anything else I need to know? Is Charlie a warlock, or maybe my next door neighbor's cat is actually a unicorn?"

"Bella…" Jasper started, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I huffed as I took my seat on the couch back.

"I don't believe that. In the past few days there have been a lot of changes, I don't believe that you are taking it as coolly as you let on," he explained.

"It's hard to believe, I'll give you that. But…it's fine. So vampires and werewolves exist, as long as everyone is okay and happy, I'm okay and happy."

"That's very unselfish of you, I'm impressed."

"He's really a wolf?" I asked.

"Unfortunately yes," Jasper answered.

"That's why he hates you…it's like the movie _Underworld_, vampires hate werewolves right?"

"Yeah, something like that," he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I need to go to him…I treated him like shit," a few tears formed around the rim of my eyes.

"Yes, well, I'd give him an hour or two. He's going to be in big trouble when he gets home," Jasper warned.

"Trouble? Why?"

"The reason he never told you himself is because he was forbidden by his pack leader. Werewolves are hardwired to be obedient, he didn't have a choice. That's why he asked me to tell you everything, he found a loophole, but they aren't going to be happy with him," he explained. Great, I got him into trouble, that's exactly what he needs after all I put him through.

"It doesn't matter, I still need to talk to him. I suppose you can't go with me?" I asked nervously.

"No way, but I'll be here waiting for you when you get back."

"I guess…Charlie won't be back till tomorrow anyway." Jasper nodded and got more comfortable in the chair. I walked over and grabbed my keys and jacket then looked back at him.

"Jasper?"

"Yes Bella?"

"Promise me you'll be here when I get back?"

"I promise, I'll be here."

Driving to La Push seemed to take forever and when I finally pulled into the Black's driveway my stomach dropped when I saw several other cars there that didn't belong to Jake or Billy. I swallowed hard and got out of the truck.

"Bella," a familiar face opened the door, he was a broad guy with a deep voice, what was his name? Sam something…

"I know this is a bad time, but I really need to talk to Jacob, I have to apologize to him," I tried to step inside but he blocked my way.

"I'd like to talk to you first if that's okay," he fully stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

"You're the leader?" I guessed.

"Yes." His voice was harsh and coarse but I could tell by his tone that he wasn't a danger to me.

"Look, I'm so sorry for the trouble I've caused, if I'd known…"

"Bella, please," he held up a hand, "You care about Jacob, you were worried about him. We do stupid things when we worry about those we love, so don't apologize."

"Then what do you want to talk to me about?" I had figured he was going to yell at me, rip me apart for being such a bother.

"I'm upset with Jacob for having an understanding with your Cullen friend," he said.

"I understand that too, Jasper really is a good person," I tried to reason.

"Our people have a rich history Bella, that doesn't change easily. It is our nature to hate them, it's the foundation of our existence. I'm actually surprised that you choose to spend time with him, everything inside you should be telling you to run away from him."

"I'm a weird person." He laughed at this.

"Yes, I suppose you are."

"Sam is it?" I asked and he nodded in reply, "Sam, I don't want you to be upset with Jake this is really all my fault."

"I guess that's true enough, and I also suppose you didn't drive all the way down here to talk to me so I'll let you go inside now."

"Thanks…Sam?"

"Yes?"

"About this Jasper thing, you all aren't going to try to hurt him are you?" My stomach churned as I thought of Jasper in any kind of pain.

"Well, I can't promise you anything, but for right now everything is fine." That was okay for me, "Jacob's inside if you can pry him away from Alyssa."

"Jake?" I yelled into the house.

"Bells!" he ran up to me and threw his arms around me. "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you!"

"No…Jacob, I'm sorry. We're best friends and I should have realized that if you weren't telling me something it was for a damn good reason. Can you forgive me?"

"As long as you can forgive me for busting into your house like a maniac and yelling at you," he hugged me again.

"Consider it forgiven," I smiled.

"God it's so good to have you know everything, how are you taking it?" he rubbed my shoulders.

"It's a lot, but as long as you're okay and we're still friends, I'm okay," I assured him.

"Gosh there's so much I can tell you now. I don't even know where to start," he beamed.

"Just start at the beginning," I suggested.

We walked around La Push for hours talking about Jake and his "pack." His stories were surreal, like something from a movie but I was completely enthralled by them. I asked him questions and, typical Jake, he answered them all standing up and using his hands to motion capture every moment of every story. It was almost eleven at night by the time I got back to my truck.

"Leaving so soon?" Jake asked.

"Jasper is waiting on me," I replied timidly, my heart thumped when I thought of him.

"Ah. What is the ol' boyfriend doing while you're down here?"

"_Boyfriend_? Yeah, right." Jacob seemed thoroughly amused by this.

"What you don't like him like that?" he smiled widely.

"I don't know… it doesn't matter anyway."

"Why wouldn't it matter?" he raised a curious eyebrow.

"Jasper wouldn't ever like _me_ like that, I mean, look at me," I took a step back so he could.

"Bella don't be stupid, you're really beautiful."

"Jacob…" I blushed and smacked him playfully.

"I think you should talk to the bloodsucker about how he feels about you. I bet you'd be surprised," he stuck his hands in his pockets as he turned to go inside.

I thought about it the whole way home, telling Jasper how I really felt. It was insane, I definitely couldn't tell him. What would he ever see in me? I was a 17 year old loser in high school, and he was…well, he was a lot more mature let's put it that way. There wasn't a future with me, I mean not unless he turned me into a vampire. _Whoa_. I hadn't thought of that possibility, not that I'd had a reason to. I couldn't imagine me as a vampire, immortal. I let out a long sigh, an eternity with Jasper, maybe even at our pond. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at myself, what the hell was I thinking? Jacob was delusional. I wasn't pretty, and I certainly wasn't good enough for Jasper.

I walked into the house and sure enough, he was there, sitting in the same chair waiting on me.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry for making you wait this long," I apologized.

"Don't worry about it, I went hunting earlier, I only just got back about twenty-five minutes ago. How'd it go with Jacob?" he asked cheerfully.

"Great, I got to meet everyone, they were all really nice. He told me all kinds of cool stuff about being a werewolf."

"Anything interesting?"

"Everything was interesting in the sense that I'd never heard anything like it before," we both chuckled, and my mind wandered to something particular Jake had explained, _imprinting_. It was a weird concept that I really didn't understand, Jake had tried to explain it to me as best he could but I ended up just staring at him like an idiot.

"There was something he told me, but I didn't really get it."

"What was it?"

"It's called imprinting…" I glanced at him, sitting down on the couch as close to him as I felt comfortable with, but I could still probably fit my hands between us if I pushed them together.

"I…don't think I've heard of that," Jasper whispered as he suddenly became aware of our proximity. I instinctively moved away a few more inches.

"Apparently, it's when a wolf see's someone, and then they just fall in love with that person," I knew my explanation was feeble.

"Like love at first sight or something?" he was looking at me through the corner of his eyes. Suddenly he seemed like he really was 20 years old instead of 170.

"Something like that but more absolute, when you see them everything changes, suddenly you would do anything for them, you would walk over fire if they needed you to, everything about you is suddenly bound to that person. They're the reason you exist," I finished.

"That sounds…very powerful," he whispered.

"It is, I've seen the way Jake looks at Alyssa. It makes me jealous," I admitted for the first time.

"Oh, I see," Jasper chimed.

"What?"

"That's why you care so much about Jacob."

"Oh no! I don't feel like that for _Jacob_, he's like my brother," I shook the icky thought from my mind. "I'm jealous because…well because no one has ever looked at me that way."

"I'm sure someone has looked at you like that," he mumbled.

"Nope, or if someone has then they did a good job of hiding it."

"Maybe they were scared you wouldn't feel the same way back," he pointed out.

"I suppose that could be true, but still, if someone ever really felt like that for me, they wouldn't be able to keep it to themselves and I'd love them back regardless."

"You would?" he asked and I nodded.

"Iloveyou," he whispered after a few moments of silence.

"What did you say?"

"I said…I love you."

I just stared at him, was he playing a trick on me? If he was it wasn't funny. Then he took my hand in his and scooted me closer to him, closer than I'd ever been to him.

"Bella, I haven't known you very long but the time I spend with you brings me more peace and serenity than our pond could ever think of giving me. You're the only thing that makes me feel alive," he took his free hand and brushed some of my hair behind my ear. "Some men see angels, but I only see you. You mean everything to me."

And there it was; the look that I'd seen Jake give Alyssa time after time, but it was for me and it was from the most perfect person I'd ever met. It was more powerful than I'd ever imagined it to be.

"I love you too," was all I could muster.

"I want to kiss you," he closed some of the distance between us and I could feel his icy sweet breath on my lips.

"I'd like that very much."

His lips grazed mine softly and I couldn't stop the small breath that escaped. He kissed the corners of my mouth and I felt him smiling against me. His hand slid to the back of my neck and the coolness sent chill bumps all over my body and then his lips were against mine again, it was slow and sweet and delicious if I had to sum it up in three words. When he pulled back I nearly collapsed on the couch, it took every fiber of my being to keep myself from shaking.

"That was amazing," he breathed, pulling me in close. "I've never kissed a human before."

"Neither have I," I smiled and we both laughed at the irony. It was the most perfect kiss in the history of the world, I didn't need to be an expert on kissing to know that.

"I'm glad you found me," I whispered.

"Me too love, I'm sorry it took me so long."

We stayed wrapped up in each other on my couch all night.

_Author's Note: Okay so a few things. First, I can't believe all the reviews and story subscriptions I've received, thanks so much. Second, I know Jacob would NEVER be this cool with Bella and Jasper but the thing is I don't particularly like Jacob and I guess I just made him how I'd want him to be. Honestly, we probably won't see Jacob for a few more chapters though. Anyway this was kind of a pivotal chapter so I can't wait to see your reactions *crosses fingers* and thanks SO much for reading and keeping up with me =)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated, I literally haven't been able to edit my story due to some FF error for WEEKS. Thanks for all the good reviews, and the critiques they were helpful and very nice. The timeline is going to get a little skippy now that Bella and Jasper have confessed their love for one another, no need to go by a daily play by play. This chapter is set roughly a few weeks after the last chapter._

_Chapter 8: Camping Out_

Jasper and I were at the pond. We came here a lot to talk, it was better than a simple dinner and movie date, that just wasn't for us. He'd taken me to dinner in Port Angeles a few times, but it was a little uncomfortable for me since I was the only one who ate and the fact that every girl in the place stared at him.

Charlie had taken well to the fact that I was dating one of Dr. Cullen's children, I was nervous to tell him I was dating Jasper, but not telling him wasn't an option, I wasn't sure how it was going to work out between us, but I knew that it would. Jasper was going to be around in my life.

I was thinking about our future together now, with my head across Jasper's lap. The day was warm but he kept his hand moving across my forehead and the back of my neck to keep me cool.

"Let's stay out here forever," he whispered to me. I smiled up at him, grabbing one of his hands in my own.

"Forever is a long time."

"Not for me," he disputed.

"Well I only have one forever unlike _some_ people," I giggled. The issue didn't come up very often, in fact we'd only even acknowledged it once or twice. However, when the topic of forever did arise a shadow would fall across Jasper's eyes. I had pretended not to notice before, but now as I watched that familiar shadow appear behind his brilliant eyes, curiosity got the best of me.

"Why do you do that every time the word 'forever' comes up?" I asked casually.

"Do what darlin'?"

"Something gets darker behind your eyes," I pulled myself up to plant small kisses on either side of his face. He smiled in return.

"Do you work tomorrow?" he asked abruptly. I pulled away with a skeptical look on my face.

"That isn't exactly the answer I was looking for, but no, I don't," I answered. Jasper pulled me into him and buried his head playfully into my neck.

"Camp out with me here tonight," he asked, his mouth only inches from my ear. Tingles ran down my spine.

"Hmm, Charlie doesn't love you _that_ much," I reminded him.

"Tell him you're with Jessica." He turned my body around so I was straddling his lap, I loved and hated when he used his strength like this. I loved it because it thrilled me to no end, but I hated that he could not only hear my heart racing but also he could feel what I was feeling.

He kissed me deeply on the lips for further convincing.

"Mmm," I reluctantly pulled away, "You're not going to be a bad influence on me, are you Mr. Whitlock?" Jasper let out a low growl and flipped us over on the blanket so he was on top of me. I wasn't sure why, but whenever I used his real name, Whitlock, it excited him…I used it as often as possible.

"Will you?" he breathed between kisses.

"Will I what?" I had forgotten what the original question was.

"Will you camp out with me tonight?" he slid his hand over my shoulder, causing the strap of my tank top to fall down my arm, exposing the skin just above my breast. He kissed along the hem of my shirt, up to my shoulder, and down my arm driving me wild.

"Yes."

We rolled back over and I laid my head across his lap again, like before. I'm not sure how long we sat there for, just listening to the water. I knew something was bothering him though. The thing about Jasper and his empathic abilities was that I could feel his emotions sometimes too, but only when I was touching him.

"What's wrong?" I finally asked.

"I'm leaving in a few days," he said quietly. I shot up, panic filling my heart and mind. Jasper took my hand and caressed the back of it. "Calm down, I would never leave you permanently. I'll only be gone for a few days, a week at most."

"Where are you going?" I asked only slightly calmer than before.

"I do have a family," he reminded me, "Carlisle and Esme miss me, so do Alice and Edward. I need to visit them."

"Of course, I'm sorry I freaked out," I felt silly.

"Don't be sorry, it's bothering me quite a bit, knowing I'll be away from you," he admitted.

"It'll just be for a few days, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, it'll be fine then," I was of course, faking my enthusiasm, and it seemed to have worked. Jasper smiled and pushed some hair out of my face, then leaned in to kiss me.

"Come on," he said getting up, "You need to go home and pack for tonight," he held his hands out for me to steady myself with as I stood up.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I am going to set up our camp site, in the mean time you can call Jessica to get your story straight," he smirked.

"Oh, you are a bad influence."

Dad was fine with me spending the night with Jessica, he was going to watch the game and turn in early anyway. I went to my room to pack some clothes and call Jess.

"Hey, it's me," I said into the phone.

"Oh hey Bella, what's up?" Jessica responded.

"Um, well, I told my Dad that I was spending the night with you tonight, I was wondering if you could cover for me if he calls," I felt bad asking her to lie, but it was Jessica, she'd asked me to do it for her a thousand times.

"Sure."

"Thanks, Jess."

"So?" she pressed.

"So what?"

"So are you going to be with Jasper tonight?" she giggled. Word spread fast when people found out that the chief's daughter was dating a Cullen, word spread especially fast when Jessica caught wind of it.

"You already know the answer to that," I told her, though I did feel a bit giddy talking about it.

"What's it like with him?" she asked.

"What is what like with him?"

"You know," she chuckled, "The sex? Jeez Bella do I need to spell it out?"

"Oh…well, we…don't, I mean we haven't…" I stuttered over my words, I could feel my face getting warm.

"Oh," she said surprised, "I just thought since he was older…so what are you all doing tonight?"

"We're camping out," I answered quickly.

"Ah. Romantic night under the stars huh?" she asked.

"I guess…"

"Well, I'd pack something sexy if I were you," she suggested before hanging up. I hadn't thought about…sex, with Jasper. I mean I had, but he'd never brought it up so I never did. If we were going to do it though, tonight would be a perfect opportunity. I pulled out the flannel pajamas I'd packed and replaced them with a pair that Mom had bought me a few Christmases ago, they weren't very sexy, just silk and the shorts were a bit tighter and shorter than I'd ever want to wear to bed, but they were the best I had.

I also pulled the clothes I'd been wearing off and hopped into the shower making sure I shaved my legs thoroughly. Before putting clothes back on I decided to put on some sexier underwear, again, not much of a selection but I did have a black lace bra that had matching lace boy shorts. I felt stupid, who would camp out in shit like this? Jasper would think I was mental. I stood there in my sexy underwear for five minutes before conceding and putting clothes on over them.

I heard Jasper pull up in front of the house, and applied a bit of tinted lip balm before going downstairs to meet him. Charlie wasn't home from work yet so I wrote him a quick note before leaving.

_Dad,_

_Jess came and picked me up before you got home. We're going to be in Port Angeles watching a late movie so I'll call you tomorrow morning when I wake up. I left some hamburger out to thaw in case you feel like eating something decent, if not, there are Pizza Rolls in the freezer._

_Love,_

_B_

"You smell good," Jasper noted as I walked outside to greet him.

"I wanted to take a shower before leaving," I answered quickly.

"Why are you nervous?" he asked.

"I'm not…" I was going on the defense, a tell tale sign I was lying.

"Empath," he chimed pointing to himself.

"I'm just worried about Charlie finding out what I'm really up to," I lied.

"Bella, darling, if you don't want to then please tell me, I don't want you to feel guilty."

"No, I want to spend the night with you," I assured him. He brushed my face with the back of his hand before throwing his car into reverse.

While I had been packing Jasper had been setting up our campsite. He's laid out a humongous blanket, it had to be at least 6ftx6ft. There was a tent just big enough for two in a corner that had layers of thick down blankets spread across the floor. I took my shoes off before stepping on the blanket and I walked over to the tent and crawled inside.

"Did you get it fluffy enough?" I laughed, falling back onto the bouncy floor.

"There's about seven down blankets, and a slightly inflated mattress under that. I just want you to be comfortable when you sleep," he explained.

A few hours later I was wrapped up in a blanket leaning against Jasper watching the water and listening to the sound of the forest. Not to be cheesy, but it was magical, especially since I was sitting there with a vampire.

"What time is it?" I yawned. Jasper looked at his cell phone.

"It's half past midnight, would you like to go to bed?" he asked.

"Hmm," I mumbled under another yawn. I stood up and walked over to the tent to get my bag. Jasper followed me. I had completely forgotten that I was wearing lace underwear but when he laid down across the floor of the tent looking too sexy, I was reminded.

I decided that I didn't want to be the one that brought it up, if we were going to do anything I wanted it to be mutual. I couldn't even imagine how humiliated I would be if I threw myself at him and he turned me down. So, I grabbed my pj's out of my bag and threw them down as I started unbuttoning my jeans.

"Oh, would you…would you like me to step out?" he asked shakily. It was now or never, I could at least hint to him that if he wanted to have sex with me…well I'd be up for it.

"No, that's okay." I slid my jeans down my legs, exposing my underwear to him. I could feel my face getting hot as he gazed at me. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it off over my head. I started folding the discarded clothing, stalling so he could see me like this a little bit longer.

"Bella?"

"Huh?"

"Come here."

I slid over to him, my heart pounding. He kissed me deeply, our bodies conforming to the million layers of fluff underneath. I have to admit, I'd never been this comfortable in a tent, though it was a little excessive.

"These," he started, sliding his forefinger just under the hem of my panties, "are the underwear you wear on a camping trip?" I nodded like an idiot. He smiled at me devilishly sending chills down my back. He kissed me again, his tongue parting my lips for entrance which I gladly obliged. His hand started moving down my chest but before he got to the good part he pulled away, his eyes seemingly worried.

"Bella…are you a virgin?" he asked softly. Wow. Not the question I was expecting, but it was close enough to the topic.

"Yes. Are…are you?" I immediately regretted asking. Of course he wasn't a virgin. He'd been here for 170 years! I wasn't upset that he wasn't or anything but I certainly didn't want the roster.

"Well, no," he became uneasy, "I've only been with one person though, and that was a very long time ago." I figured he meant Maria, the vampire who brainwashed him into becoming a war monger. Jasper looked so uncomfortable and I could tell he was thinking about his past.

"Hey," I said crawling on top of him, "I love you. I'm sorry if I've dredged up old memories." I kissed him lightly on the lips then crawled over to my pajamas to put them on.

"Don't," he stopped me and threw my pj's over onto my bag. He pulled me back over to his side and positioned himself on top of me.

"I love you too, forever." He leaned down and kissed me hard, my head started to get fuzzy.

The more he kissed me the hotter I became and the more uncomfortable my stupid, lacy, itchy bra became too. After about 15 minutes of making out it was downright in the way.

"Wait," I breathed, sitting up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I strained to unhook the clasps in the back, "This stupid thing is so damn itchy, I can't stop thinking about it and it's taking away from the moment."

Jasper laughed and I felt his cool fingers trace up my back to unhook the bra. "Thanks." I laid back down, but Jasper stayed frozen.

"Wow," he said staring at my chest. I blushed furiously. His body fell against mine and I let out a moan when my bare chest came in contact with his body. I grabbed a handful of his hair and desperately pulled him into me. His lips made their way to my neck and I moaned again, slightly embarrassed at my lack of control.

"We don't match," I whimpered wanting him to strip down for me. He pulled away and smiled at my suggestion. He pushed himself up on his knees and pulled his shirt off, exposing his perfect body, seriously the Gods should be jealous. His scars were visible to me, but that only turned me on more for some reason. He unbuckled his belt and slid his jeans off gracefully, I wish I could be so graceful.

There he stood in front of me in his boxers, and he was clearly just as excited as I was. I sat up and pulled his boxers down, erupting a moan from him as the fabric grazed over his erection. Without thinking I wrapped my hand around him and started pumping slowly. Another growl escaped his lips. There was a lot of friction from the skin to skin, so I pulled myself closer to him and took his length into my wet mouth for some lubrication.

"Shit Bella," he yelped. He allowed me to suck on him a little longer before he jumped back a little bit as if suddenly realizing what was going on. "Bella, darlin', we don't have to do this. I don't want to pressure you into anything." I leaned back a bit and spread my les out for him seductively.

"Do I look pressured?" I raised an eyebrow. He smirked and threw his boxers to the side.

"Now you don't match me," he laughed. He hooked his fingers on the sides of my underwear and pulled them off slowly.

"You're so beautiful it should be a fucking crime," he moaned as he laid back down on top of me. He kissed my lips, then moved to my neck, now using his tongue in different ways. He licked his way over to my chest and I all but screamed when he took one of my nipples into his mouth, flicking it violently and rolling the other between his fingers.

"That feels so good," I whimpered. Jasper kissed my lips again sliding his hand down my body until it rested on my inner thigh. Slowly he moved his fingers to my core, gently caressing the bundle of nerves and making me pant with anticipation.

"You're so wet for me baby," he moaned as his lips crushed against mine again. Suddenly I felt his middle finger dip into me, my heart pretty much exploding in my chest. He started pumping it in and out, adding another finger after a moment.

"Please Jasper, oh God," I moaned, arching my back so he could go deeper inside me. To my complete dismay he stopped. "No, don't stop, please," I begged in agony. He pulled himself on top of me gently, positioning his tip at my entrance. I yelped at the contact and he wasn't even inside me yet.

"Bella, are you sure-" I cut him off and pushed his hips down, sliding him into me. We both let out fierce growls. Don't get me wrong, it hurt, but I was feeling so much pleasure I couldn't even think about the pain. He buried his head into my neck and I could feel him panting against me as he slammed into me deeper and harder each time.

"Fuck Bella, God…" he moaned into me ear, inciting my own moans.

"I think I'm…" I couldn't even finish my sentence. I dug my fingernails into his shoulder, "Jasper!" I could feel myself on the edge.

"Fuck," he growled into my ear as he slammed against me one more time, I could feel him release deep within me and it was over, I threw my head back as I climaxed. Jasper collapsed beside me with a deep sigh. I stayed silent for a minute, allowing my breathing to return to normal.

"That was insane," he smiled kissing me all over.

"Yeah. I thought it was supposed to hurt but it didn't," I explained.

"Well, that was me," he admitted sheepishly, "I covered up your pain with as much pleasure as I was feeling." I thought about this for a moment.

"God I'm glad you're an empath." He chuckled at this and pulled me into him.

"I love you Bella Swan."


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Can I just apologize for the ridiculous amount of time that has passed between posting? I really don't have an excuse, I guess I've just been a little busier lately. Anyway here it is!_

_Chapter 9: From Afar_

They watched Bella walk Jasper to his vehicle, she never left his side. They could tell that he was hesitant to let go of her, to get into the car and drive away.

"He senses us," the leader whispered. Such an amusing creature, Major Whitlock was, amazing but a complete waste. _Pity. _

The trio silently backed away from their hiding place, disappearing into the darkness of the woods.

"When will we take her master?" the young one asked curiously, the burning in her throat flared but she knew master would not let her feed until the task was finished.

"Tonight," Master replied, "In the early morning hours."

_**Bella POV**_

"So how long is lover boy going to be gone?" Charlie joked at me when I came back in the house.

"Ha ha," I snapped back at him playfully, "Not long, a few days probably." I didn't want to say goodbye to Jasper, I knew I was being silly but the thought of him so far away left me uneasy. Like there was a part of me exposed now, vulnerable without him. I took a deep breath as I steadied myself on the stairs, _he'll be back soon, soon. _

"Ah come on Bells, it's not like you're going to die without him for a day or two," Charlie pointed out.

"I thought you liked Jasper?" I asked wryly. Charlie went on the defense immediately.

"I do! Honestly, the guy is wonderful. You just have to remember priorities, it's a little early in your life to have a significant other taking up all your time Bells," he explained gently. I just rolled my eyes and let a small chuckle escape my lips.

"Dad, I make straight A's, I tag along with Angela and the girls constantly, and I spend like at least a few hours a week with Jake, what more do you want?" I challenged. Dad's eyes dropped and I had to stifle another giggle at his look of defeat. I could tell he was trying to think of something smooth to say but eventually he sighed reluctantly.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I guess, well, you're growing up Bells, it's scary for me, ya know?" he raised an eyebrow at me and I saw myself in him. I reached out and placed my hand over his in understanding.

"I'm still you're little girl Dad, I'm just way more mature. But I'll always be your er, _trustworthy_, little girl," I assured him with a grin. He smiled back at me and patted me on the arm.

"So…" he said awkwardly, ahh Charlie and emotions, life's little mystery. "What's for dinner?"

"I made pasta in pesto basil sauce," I answered.

After dinner, I finished up my homework while Dad yelled at the Portland Trailblazers who were getting their butts whooped by the sound of it. I couldn't stop thinking of Jasper though and as if he could feel my emotion from so far away a text popped up on my phone.

From: Jazz

I'm going to miss you. I love you Bella. Goodnight.

I smiled as I replied with the same message. A few seconds later I got another.

From: Jazz

P.S. Stay safe darlin'.

What a very odd thing to write, still, the fact that I knew he was thinking of me brought some comfort. I decided to call it a night.

"I'm going to turn in, I'll see you in the morning," I told Charlie in passing.

"Probably won't see me till dinner time, I have to go in tomorrow," Charlie responded.

"Tomorrow? What, no fishing with Harry?" I joked.

"Nah," he smiled, "The sheriff next county over called in some extra help this weekend, found a dead body down by the lake out there," Charlie relented.

"That's awful, be careful," I said. Then, totally out of character for me I bent down to give Charlie a kiss on the cheek, he looked just as shocked as me, but just as quickly his face molded into a content fatherly expression.

"I will, goodnight Bells…I love ya."

Sleep came quickly but my dreams were anything but comforting. I was standing in a pitch black room, but I could feel a chilling draft sweeping through it at my ankles. Suddenly Jasper's voice came out of nowhere,

"Bella?" I heard him call, his voice was in a panic. I could feel his emotion as if I was an empath myself, I could feel the urgency the horror coursing through him. I opened my mouth to respond to him, to let him know I was near but no sound came out. Oh no. My blood started to turn to ice as I realized that I was completely immobile. That's when I heard it.

From somewhere in the darkness I could hear a door creak open inch by torturing inch. The creaking of the hinges sounded more like nails being dragged down a chalkboard. The noise was definitely coming from behind me but damn it all I couldn't turn my body to face it…I couldn't even attempt to run though I wouldn't have had a clue where I was going.

I could feel the wet tears stream down my face as I desperately tried calling out to Jasper to no avail. The creaking of the door was now replaced by heavy footsteps moving closer, closer, and closer. I could feel the icy breath of someone right at the back of my neck and every hair on my body stood on end.

I woke up with a jolt nearly knocking over my lamp as I threw my legs over the side of the bed just to make sure they worked. I sighed with relief as I began to realize it had only been a nightmare.

"Finally," a whisper came from behind me. I sucked in too much air as I spun around to see who it was, there was no one behind me yet I could still sense someone was in the room. _It's just a dream, you aren't awake yet, it's alright, _I tried telling myself but I knew I was awake.

"J-Jasper?" I whimpered into the shadows.

"Not quite," a deep voice came from behind. I started to turn around but was stopped when I felt something hit the back of my head then I felt the warm liquid seep through my hair as everything went black.

_**Jasper POV**_

"Honestly Jasper I do wish you would have brought her with you," Esme told me for the thousandth time as we sat on the couch watching the Trailblazers get their asses kicked on tv.

"I know Mom, but she needs to spend some time with her friends and Father before school starts back," I reasoned hoping that she accepted it. Of course Alice had something to say which she made apparent when she cleared her throat.

"Yes Alice?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh nothing," she replied, her voice like chimes. "I just think that with three weeks before school left Bells could have spared a few days and nights. I could have taken her back to school shopping," she whined. I let out a large laugh.

"Bells? Shopping together? Alice you don't even know her yet!"

"Not technically but we _did_ go to the same school so we know of each other. Besides, I can see that we are going to be close," she defended. I shook my head and settled back into the couch as Carlisle and Edward cursed at the game again.

I focused my thoughts in on Bella and wished I knew what she was doing. It's was 9 o'clock in Forks so I guessed that she was probably doing her homework on her living room floor, Charlie close at hand more than likely going into fits over the game. I smiled with relief as I thought of the normal and safe image of her. Suddenly though I felt my mood blacken and boil. Edward turned towards me curiously.

"Jazz? Are you alright?" he asked softly, though the entire family turned towards me simultaneously.

"Fine, I just blanked out for a moment, I'll go out and get some air," I said standing up and within a second was outside on the back porch.

I decided to send Bella a goodnight text, knowing that her reply would put me at ease. Sure enough she responded quickly with a cute "I love you." I laughed at myself for worrying over her, her father was a sheriff for God's sake, what could she possibly get into? Still, there was a knot in my stomach so I sent her another message to keep herself safe. To my dismay she didn't respond to that one, but I brushed it off anyway and stepped back inside.

Hours passed and we all decided to go for a midnight hunt. I admit that hunting knowing my family was nearby put a thrill back into me and before I knew it I was in the zone. I'd just picked up on a herd of elk when Alice's murderous scream stopped me in my tracks.

"Alice!" I yelled trying to pick up her scent. Carlisle was by my side in an instant.

"Where is she?" he yelled. Edward ran past us at lightning speed and we quickly ran after him, he knew where she was.

When we found her she was standing still as stone her eyes transfixed on a vision so we all kept our distance from her.

"It's too much…It's too much," she cried suddenly, turning herself towards us. I could tell Edward was trying to read her mind but it was evident that he couldn't catch up with her thoughts.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked unable to stand it any longer.

"Jasper you have to go back, now. It's Bella-"

"Bella?" I interrupted, "Alice? Tell me, what is it? What's happened to my Bella?" I pleaded with her but she just kept shaking her head. "ALICE!" I shook her violently, Edward pulled me back swiftly.

"She'd been taken, someone's taken her," he said to me. Taken? _Not Bella…please not her_.

"Who?" I was starting to unravel.

"I can't tell, Alice can't see…"

"Who the fuck took her?" we were all running back to the house now. I'd left everything there, my phone, my keys…my head was spinning.

"I can't see them, it's a group and their faces just keep blurring together!" Alice cried. Them? There was more than one person? My God what were they planning to do to her? My throat blazed with the thought of what I was going to do when I found them.

"Jasper!" Edward's voice was shaky, he'd seen what I was planning for them.

I almost tore off the front door when we finally reached the house. I grabbed my keys and phone off the dining room table and was at my car within seconds.

"Jazz!" I heard Esme cry after me but I hadn't time for an explanation.

"I need you," I told Carlisle who saw following my every move.

"Give us time to calm Esme down, we'll only be a few minutes behind you before long. You have to call Charlie, he may not even know yet," Carlisle instructed. I nodded as I sped off down the road. The first number I dialed was Bella's cell.

"Please pick up baby, please, please!" No answer. I called the Swan residence next, but the tone went dead on the other end. Of all nights for their fucking phone to be out it had to be this night! I continued dialing numbers with no success. Then it hit me…Jacob Black. I dialed 411.

"I need a listing for Black in La Push Washington…NOW!" I screamed. With a few questions answered I heard the phone ringing.

"Huh? Hello?" A sleepy voice resounded, it was like music to my ears.

"Jacob! Jacob…Bella, Bella!" I couldn't get the words out but I could tell I had his attention now.

"Who the hell is this?" he demanded. I took a breath.

"Jacob it's Jasper Hale…listen to me. Something has happened to Bella, you have to find her," I spat.

"What the fuck did you do?" I heard his voice shaking, accusing me. The anger swelled up inside me to the point that I thought I would surely explode.

"Listen you fucking mutt, I haven't done anything, I'm in Alaska. I can't explain it all right now but all I know is Bella is in danger, you have to get to Forks, get to her house. I'm on my way," I commanded.

"What do I tell Charlie?"

"I don't know, just don't tell him I called you, I definitely can't explain anything to him."

With that the phone went dead on the other end, I wasn't sure what was happening but I knew Jacob was running as fast as he could to Forks.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: Thanks for all the new reviews! Sorry for last chapter's cliffhanger, but I'll do my best to make it up to everyone! _

_Chapter 10: Far Away_

_**Bella POV**_

My head was throbbing as I awoke. What had happened? I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. Where the hell was I? I sat up and lifted my hand to the back of my head, I felt the dried blood flake onto my fingertips and winced. I knew that in a situation like this people were supposed to think quickly and find the strength to get themselves out but not me. I felt my shoulders start heaving as the first few tears brimmed over my lids.

Just then the door swung open.

"Blind her," a voice commanded and suddenly everything went black even though my eyes were open. I started screaming in panic, thrashing about on the floor. Immediately someone swooped down beside me and held my arms down.

"Shh shh shh Isabella, it won't do any good to scream, I'm not going to hurt you."

"What do you want?" I managed in between sobs. I still couldn't see anything but in the midst of my panic I could feel the stony skin of a vampire and with that I knew I was done for.

"My dad is the sheriff, he'll find you…please, please just let me go home," I begged. My assailant let out a small fake sigh then stood up.

"I will not let you go, as it were, I require your assistance."

"For what?" I sobbed.

"To kill Major Whitlock." With that I heard the door slam and my sight returned to me.

"Jasper," I whimpered, tears streaming down my face.

_**Jasper POV**_

When I pulled into the Swan driveway there was complete chaos. It seemed as though every single police officer within a tri-county radius was here.

"Charlie!" I called as I ran up the walkway.

"Jasper, she's gone, there's blood all over her bedroom floor," he blurted, I could tell he was slowly unraveling.

"Everything's going to be fine chief, here, sit down for a minute," I soothed. It was hard trying to control his emotions when I couldn't even control my own but eventually I had him sane again.

Jacob Black stepped out of the house with the strangest look on his face. I could tell he knew something.

"I'll be back Charlie," I gave him one last soothing wave before I stepped into privacy with Jake.

"What do you know?" I asked.

"It was vampires. I know that much, their scent is all over her room," he explained. I had to steady myself on the back of the sofa.

"What?"

"Are you deaf? Vampires!" he repeated.

I ran up to her room and swung open the door. Jacob was only seconds behind me.

"I went through everything with a fine tooth comb as soon as the cops cleared out," Jacob explained, "The problem is all of you smell the same to me and the rest of the pack, for all I know…Jasper? Hey! Are you listening to me?"

I wasn't listening at all. On the floor, beside Bella's bed was a pool of blood. Her blood. I hadn't cried in years, I was incapable of producing tears but as I kneeled down to touch the dried blood I felt that familiar dry ache in the middle of my throat. I lifted my hand up to my nose and focused all my energy on smelling her blood. If I could just get a hint of scent maybe I could track her, I smelled nothing though.

Every human I've ever come across was a challenge. Sitting in the lunchroom at Forks High every day was my own personal torture. The one person whose blood doesn't affect me is the one person who I'm madly in love with, and, the one who I'd give anything to find. Damn it all to hell.

"So who was it?" Jacob interrupted my thoughts.

"Excuse me?"

"_Come on_," he exasperated, "You have to know who did this to her. It was a vampire! How many fucking vampires could there be in this area? This wasn't random dude, this was personal."

Jacob was right. I stood up and walked around her room. They would've had to come in through her window, which she always left unlocked for me…_stop it, focus. _I touched the window frame, I had to become the enemy. I turned around to face the room, Jacob looking at me, waiting for an answer. The rocking chair in the corner of her bedroom caught my attention. I went to sit down in it.

"They sat here," I said, "They watched her for a long time." When she awoke she would have sat up on the side of her bed. Her back turned to the rocking chair, and whoever took her. I stood up.

"He probably made some sort of noise from behind her, to bring her attention to this side of the room, to scare her," I explained.

"Why?" Jacob asked.

"So he could do this," I said as I leapt to the other side of the room, it took me less than a second. "He would've been directly behind her at this point, he hit her over the head and escaped back out the window," I divulged.

"How could Charlie not have heard anything?" Jacob asked astounded.

"This was a professional assailant. A tracker perhaps? Either way, he would've been dead silent, I'm surprised he left her blood behind," I went on, staring at the small dried pool.

"He left it for you," Jacob said.

"What do you mean?"

"Vampires smell human blood! Don't you see? Just smell her blood and follow her scent! She was obviously bleeding, so there's probably a trail of it!" Jacob said, an enthusiastic tone bubbling up in him.

"I can't…" I whispered.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't…smell her blood. That's why it's so easy and natural for me to be with her, she's the first person I've ever met that I haven't been tempted to kill."

"Charming," he said sarcastically, "So what the fuck do we do now?"

"My family will be here soon. My brother Edward, he's the closest thing we have to a tracker, it'll have to do."

_**Bella POV**_

They have to know I'm gone by now, at any moment Jasper's going to burst through the door and take me home. I hope he kills them all. I moaned at the throbbing in my head, it wouldn't stop.

"Are you hungry?" a small voice from the doorway whispered. I shrieked in surprise but she seemed harmless enough.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she was by my side now, a bowl of some form of food in her hand, a bottle of water in the other.

"That's what the other person said, she lied," I whimpered with fear. The small girl batted her lids.

"That was our Master. She's very powerful. Are you hungry?" she asked again.

"A little," I mustered, though what I was really wanting was the water, she seemed to notice this and handed it to me. "Thanks."

"What's your name?" I finally asked after I gulped down half my water.

"My name is Aubrey, but you can call me Bree, everyone else does," she said, her crimson eyes smiling.

"How old are you Bree?" I asked as I took a small bite of food.

"I'm 16."

"You've been a vampire for 16 years?"

"No, I've only been a vampire for a few months. I was 16 when…" she trailed off.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"You're scared and alone, I know how that feels," she explained. I closed my eyes tightly, feeling sorry for myself and Bree. It took me a few minutes, but I finally got the courage to ask my next question.

"What are they going to do with me?" my voice shook with anxious fear. Her eyes shot to the door, making sure no one was near.

"I'm not really sure, they're waiting to see what he'll do," she explained. Now she was behind me, using a wet wash cloth to remove the clumps of dried blood from my scalp.

"He? You mean Jasper?" I asked frantically.

"Yes, Major Jasper Whitlock. I really hope he finds you soon," she said. I gulped, my mouth suddenly dry again.

"What happens if he doesn't?" I asked. I felt Bree go rigid behind me, she didn't want to answer.

"If he doesn't find you by tomorrow night, well, Riley said that Master will turn you," she explained.

"Bree!" a deeper voice came from the door and in a flash Bree was standing up, her hands behind her back like an innocent school girl.

"R-Riley, I was just…" she looked at me hurtfully for a second, unsure of what explanation to give the boy standing at the door.

"You were just divulging information to our guest, information she needn't hear," he looked at me then, and I shut my eyes fearing the worst.

"Come Bree, Miss Swan is almost out of water. She'll need a refill soon, but that is all she needs, is that understood?" he asked her. Bree nodded her head up and down enthusiastically and they both walked out the door, shutting it behind them. I started sobbing immediately, I was completely alone and if Jasper didn't find me soon they were going to turn me into one of them. If Jasper did find me though, my heart wrenched at what might happen to him.

I'm not sure how long I slept, but suddenly I was woken up by the door creaking open. I turned over, expecting to see Bree, instead there was a different woman, she was older…beautiful. Still, when I looked into her crimson eyes fear filled me to the brim. This must be Master.

"Are you thirsty Isabella?" she asked seductively showcasing the bottle of water in her pale hand. I was thirsty, but I found myself unable to speak. My lack of words seemed to irritate her so she threw the bottle at me, hitting my stomach and leaving an instant bruise.

"I understand that Bree let you in on my little plan, should Major fail to find you," she said. Poor Bree, she was just trying to be my friend.

"Please don't hurt her," I begged. The woman turned to look at me, amused.

"Ah, she speaks. You don't have to worry about Bree, she's just a stupid girl, nothing she shared with you has upset my plan so she is safe," she explained and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "You see Isabella, I do have a problem. It seems as though my Major is having a bit of trouble finding you, this is upsetting to me. I assumed he would have been here hours ago, but that wretched family of his has desensitized him almost completely, it will take years to get him back…" she trailed off in thought then smiled demonically at me turning my blood to ice again.

"Never mind that, anyway, it seems I need a little more from you," she said as she pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

_**Jasper POV**_

"Ed, please, you have to hurry," I begged. We were standing across the street from the Swan house. All the officers, Charlie included, had left to investigate around town and through some of the forests. I had assured him that I would stay behind with Jacob Black in case anything should happen.

"Jazz, I can't even imagine what you're going through but every time you interrupt my thoughts I lose focus, so please," Edward sighed. I nodded through my frustration and sulked back across the street.

"We will find her son," Carlisle assured me. I walked into the house and sat down on the couch. This is where we shared our first kiss. We were so far away from finding her and this was hopeless, Alice still couldn't see anything, Edward was struggling under pressure, and Jacob and his pack were proving to be completely useless. My phone rang suddenly and I prayed it was Charlie, perhaps the human police had found something after all. It was a withheld number and I sucked in a breath as I struggled to open my phone.

"Hello?" I cried into the speaker. There was a long pause, and my dead heart dropped, a wrong number probably. Then suddenly, I heard faint breathing, I was about to repeat my "hello" when I heard her soft cry.

"Jasper?" she sobbed into the phone. It was Bella.

"Bella? Bella where are you? Are you alright? Tell me where you are baby, I'll be there, I'll save you," I cried into the phone. Her sobs grew louder and I heard a rustling in the background followed by a hard noise and Bella yelping. They were beating her.

"Jasper…I, I love you so much," she cried then yelped with another hit.

"Bella, baby, I love you!" I yelled as loud as I could. Alice and Carlisle must have heard me because they rushed through the door seconds later.

"She won't let me go, she's going to turn me into a vampire," she rushed the sentence as if she wasn't supposed to say it, then I heard another smack. I winced with the pain that she must have been feeling.

"Who? Bella? WHO?" I sobbed.

"Maria," she croaked.

The line went dead as I sat there. My phone slipped from my hand and landed with a thud on the floor.

"Son?" Carlisle took a step towards me.

"Maria has her," I spat as I pushed my way out the door. There was only one person that could help me now.


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note__: Thanks for all of the reviews- they really are addictive to read. I'm glad everyone is so into the story now. Anywho, part of this chapter is going to be in "Major's" POV because now that Jasper knows Maria is behind this he has to go back to his roots and start thinking like Major Whitlock would think to defeat her, hopefully he makes it in time =/_

_Chapter 11: Welcome Back, Major_

_**Major's POV**_

I drove all night, ignoring calls from my family and even Jacob Black. They couldn't help me anymore, I wasn't going to endanger them any further. This was Major Whitlock's battle, and I'd fight till death for Bella. When she had first uttered the word "Maria" to me over the phone I'd panicked. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to defeat her on my own and then I realized something. Jasper Hale _couldn't _defeat her, I'd have to go back to my old ways, just for a while, to be able to think like Maria does. I loved the Cullen's but they weren't going to be of use to me against Maria, they would be a distraction to me, constantly worrying about their safety. In that moment I knew I had to go to Peter and Charlotte, they were my only hope of finding her, my Bella.

I drove onto Peter and Charlotte's ranch doing about 90 miles an hour. I saw Peter walk out onto the front porch defensively then ease up when he saw my car. I parked and ran to him as fast as I could.

"Hell Jasper, what's the damned rush? The feds after you or something?" he joked.

"I need to find Maria." Was all I said to him as I walked inside their home. He stayed out on the porch, no doubt processing what I'd just said. Charlotte, who was standing in the living room smiled warmly when she saw me. A shadow fell across her face though when she saw the state I was in.

"Jasper? What is it?" she asked concerned. By that time Peter had returned into the house looking anything but happy to see me. "Peter?" Charlotte called to him, desperately trying to figure out what was going on.

"Jazz, please…" he motioned for me to sit down but I refused. "Jazz, what the hell is going on with you? Why would you ever want to go looking for Maria?" he stuttered over her name, afraid of Charlotte's reaction-which wasn't good.

"Jasper Whitlock," she spat, "You wouldn't! Why Jazz?" she pleaded with me. No two people knew just how much Maria was to be feared better than Peter and Char. I had to explain Bella to them, it seemed to take forever for me to word how much I loved her, like I'd been mated to her all my life. They quickly understood though, they'd never judge me for her being human.

"Whoa, whoa, hold it," Peter said, "You need to think about this Jazz," he told me. I lifted an eyebrow.

"What the hell is there to think about Pete? She's got Bella!" I whined.

"After all these years why would Maria want to get back at you like this? It's not Bella she wants man, it's _you_. You better be prepared for what she has in store for you when you find her."

"Don't worry, I won't have a problem dealing with her," I said bitterly. Peter shook his head,

"You don't sound like the Jasper I know now," he warned, "You sound like the one I knew back then." I looked at him for a brief moment.

"That's what I was going for, I'm going to need to use all my strength against her," I explained, hoping he would understand. He nodded gently, I could tell that he was scared for me…or of me.

"Let me make some calls, I'll see if I can track her for you." He said walking out of the room.

"Jasper," Charlotte whispered.

"What?" I said after a few moments. She was holding something back.

"Please…please don't ask us to come with you on this," she sighed. I hadn't really thought far enough ahead to even think about asking them from help, but she made me curious.

"It's just, that was the darkest time for all of us, I've spent a lot of years with him trying to help us both forget the things we saw and did with her. Instead of living in constant darkness, now it just feels like a distant nightmare and I want to keep it that way. Maybe one day we'll be able to forget completely but not if we go back," she explained and I could feel her shame in denying me. I smiled as genuinely as I could and reached for her tiny hand.

"I would never ask either of you to do that Char, never." That was Jasper Hale talking, but it was true. She smiled sadly at me and stood up, leaving me in the room alone with my thoughts.

_**Bella POV**_

I was now covered in bruises, my lip was bleeding, and I was almost certain that my ankle bone was either broken or cracked at the very least. Still, I'd told Jasper what I wanted, that I loved him and that I was going to be a vampire. I'd accepted it because the only alternative was to put Jasper at risk for death, and I couldn't live in a world without him.

"Bella?" Bree's small voice resounded through the room and I rolled myself over to meet her gaze. Her eyes looked alarmed to see me like this. She pulled a washcloth from somewhere and walked towards me with it.

"Doesn't it bother you to be with me while I'm bleeding like this?" I asked her. She smiled at me solemnly as she wiped my face clean.

"I have a lot of self control, that's why Master put me in charge of caring for you, the others would have probably drained you by now," she explained. I shuddered with the fear of what was to come for me.

"Does it hurt when…when you're changing?" I asked.

"It's the worst pain I've ever felt, it feels like you're burning alive but no one will put you out. Eventually you just wish for death but you don't get that either, you just have to burn until your heart stops beating and then you wake up," she said softly, remembering. A few tears fell across my cheek and she wiped them away.

"You made her very angry, you know. You should've just said what she wanted you to say," she said suddenly.

"I know, but I had to protect Jasper, I love him," I defended myself and hoped that Bree would understand.

"There's something I need to tell you," she whispered so low that I had to strain to hear her.

"What is it?" I whispered back.

"He's coming for you. One of the soldiers received a phone call from a vampire that used to fight for Maria, Peter I think, he's told him where to find you, I'm sure he's working with your Jasper so he's probably on his way," Bree explained. I shot up immediately.

"No! She wants to kill him, Bree you have to help me," I begged, though I wasn't sure what either of us could do. Bree shook her head back and forth in horror.

"No, I can't. She'll kill the both of us," Bree whimpered.

"Bree you can't think that way, we'll figure something out," I begged, I could tell I was losing her. She continued shaking her head.

"Please don't leave me here, I need you," my voice was getting louder now.

"I'm sorry," she cried, "I can't."

"Bree!" I called after her but she was already gone.

_**Major's POV**_

"I spoke with someone," Peter said as he came back in the room. It had almost been two hours since he started going through his contacts looking for anyone who might know where Maria is.

"And, what did you find?" I urged.

"She's south, in Arizona. She's based out of a warehouse at this address," he pushed a piece of paper towards me.

"You're sure?" I asked.

"It comes from a reliable source but," he paused.

"But what?"

"I can't be sure but, I feel like he's working with her, so there's a possibility that she knows you're coming."

"I was hoping for the element of surprise, but, thank you Peter. You've always come through for me even when I haven't deserved it," I squeezed his arm and turned to leave.

"Uh, where do you think you're going?" suddenly he was in front of me his hand pressed against my shoulder.

"Uh, to Arizona, I can't waste any more time Peter! Maria is torturing her for God's sake! She's my life now."

"I know all that but I have to say goodbye to Char before we leave," he said stepping off. It was my turn to stop him now.

"Pete, you can't come with me," I said, wishing that I could fall to my knees and beg him to come, but I promised Charlotte.

"What are you talking about? You can't handle all those assholes by yourself! It's suicide Jazz," he pointed out and I wasn't too sure that he was wrong.

"Look, I promised Charlotte that I wouldn't drag you all into this, I'm a man of my word," I told him.

"No, right now you're being a jackass, I'm going whether you or Charlotte wants me to or not."

"Pete I promised her!"

"Just go…" we both turned to face the sick looking Charlotte, my heart nearly broke as she tried to force a smile and pretend she wasn't worried about the love of her existence.

"Char, baby," Peter soothed, I turned my back so they could have their moment. "You know as good as anyone that nobody stands a chance with me and Jazz side by side, I'll be home before you know it," he explained to her. I could feel her looking at me.

"I'm trying to convince him not to Char, really I am," I defended myself. She shook her head and let out a stifled giggle.

"If the situation were reversed you'd be there in a second for us, it was wrong of me to ask you to exclude us. Peter needs to go with you, but if you both aren't back here with Bella within the next 24 hours I'll track you down and kill you myself," she smiled and flicked my ear with her fingers playfully.

"Yes ma'am," I said dipping my head like a true southern gentleman.

Once Peter and I were in the car and speeding down the highway and a safe distance from Charlotte he cleared his throat.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked warily. My eyes narrowed, trying to think of something to say. The truth was I didn't know the plan. All I knew was that I had to get to Bella before they turned her into a vampire, I wasn't going to let her die for me.

"Kill them all." Was all I could think of to say to him.


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's Note__: Thank you all so much for the reviews and favorite-ing! I'll try not to keep you in suspense for too long. But ye be warned, I like throwing curve balls, it's not all sunshine and kittens in my world. _

_Chapter 12: How to Save a Life_

"Master, how many have to die before we retreat?" Riley asked pacing back and forth. Bree crouched in a corner looking back and forth between Master and Riley, wondering if she'd made the right choice. Master had not anticipated the rage that Major Whitlock had, didn't realize the ferocity of his anger. The two vampires on the search for Bella had torn through almost eleven of Master's best soldiers. They'd been holding the Swan girl in a different warehouse, a few miles south of where Major Whitlock was tearing up Master's base of operation.

"We will _not_ retreat, you will never speak of it again," Master screamed. She was starting to lose control, Master never lost control before and it was frightening to see her unravel like this.

"It is only a matter of time before he finds us here, with just the three of us, well, we aren't likely to fare well in battle Master," Riley was desperately trying to reason with her, he would serve her until the end but he desperately wanted to spare Bree's life and his own.

"We will leave her to die then!" Master screeched. Both Riley and Bree were silenced as Maria stormed down the dark hallway to where they were holding Bella Swan.

"You've proved useless to me," she yelled at the poor human as she picked her up by her hair and threw her against the concrete wall. Bree tried to run to Bella's side but Riley kept her in place, knowing that Master would surely kill her if she were to try to help the human.

"All this time I thought you were the key, the one piece of my puzzle that I needed to lure my Major to me!" she picked her up again and Riley and Bree winced as they heard Bella's bones breaking. There was nothing they could do now though, so they stepped back and walked down the hallway, trying to get away from the atrocity.

"He's not yours," Bella rasped through her pain.

"You have a defiant mouth on you, you stupid wretch," she slammed Bella down onto the floor, busting her head open, blood pooling around her scalp where she lay.

"Master, please, when we get to Texas we will plan but we must flee now, you're unprotected here Master," Riley was at the door again erratically glancing between Maria and the window, waiting for the two vengeful vampires to speed down the dirt road.

"Just one more thing," Master laughed demonically as she pulled a dagger from the bodice of her dress. "Isabella, do you know what this is?" she was whispering in Bella's ear waving the dagger around her face. "This was given to me by a very special servant, my Jasper. I believe this belonged to him while he served in the Confederate Army but he gave it to me, do you know why?" she was laughing sadistically in Bella's face. Bella moaned, the only sound she could make and turned her face away from Maria.

"He gave this to me because he _loved_ me, he _worshipped_ me," she whispered close to her ear, "We used to spend hours making love, he will _never_ love you the way he loved me, ever," she spat on Bella's face.

"You're right," Bella was gasping for air as every bone in her rib cage was broken. "He'll love me more…he doesn't fear me, you're nothing to him," she mustered.

"You're a waste of time," Maria shouted before she buried the tip of the dagger into Bella's abdomen, twisting it around maniacally. Bella let out a small subtle gasp as she drew in her last breaths. Meanwhile the Master and her two slaves escaped the warehouse to go plot a different way to get Major back.

"Perhaps without the girl he'll be more vulnerable," Riley suggested to Master as he looked back at the warehouse where Bella's lifeless broken body lay. Bree stood shivering wishing that she'd listened to Bella. If only she had helped her. It was too late for that now.

"Perhaps he will."

_**Jasper's POV**_

"Up there, that's the road!" Peter yelled. The souls of at least eleven vampires were on our hands but I couldn't think about that right now. It would probably take me years before I could look my father in the eye without feeling totally ashamed of myself, but it was for Bella. All for her, surely that was forgivable. Maybe not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of Carlisle perhaps.

"Please don't let us be too late," I whispered to myself and to Peter. I felt his hand land on my shoulder trying to give me some form of comfort, but I wouldn't be able to think, breath, or blink until I saw Bella.

I parked the car and as we headed for the door leading into the dark warehouse, I prepared myself to see Maria, and for the absolute worst. I just prayed that we weren't too late. _Please, please let her be okay. _

"No one is here," Peter said as he took in our surroundings. "Look," he bent down to some tire treads on the asphalt, he rubbed his fingers over the rubber that had been left. "It's still hot, they must have peeled out of here not three minutes ago," he concluded.

"Come on then," I busted the door down and ran through.

"Jesus!" Peter said covering up his nose and falling behind a few strides.

"What?" I stopped to look at him, his eyes blazing with a crimson red.

"The blood! Oh God, don't you smell it? So sweet," Peter's hands were covering his face. _Oh no. Blood. _I ran through the hallways, busting through every door until finally I came to the last one, it was left unlocked and I couldn't help but feel that this was left unlocked on purpose. I twisted the knob and pushed it open.

"Oh God," I croaked out a dry sob. There lay my Bella in a pool of her own blood, a knife protruding out of her abdomen. I rushed to her side and wiped the blood that was dripping out of her mouth away. Her eyes were closed and her body was frigid. She was gone, and this was all my fault. I stood up and faced away from her, unable to see my angel looking like this. Peter stood in the doorway, his face half shocked half hungry.

"Do you hear that?" he erupted suddenly, throwing himself across the room to Bella's side.

"What?" I whispered, I couldn't find my voice.

"Heartbeat." Two syllables was all it took, I was kneeling beside her in a second, my head pressed to her chest.

"I hear it!" I all but squealed.

"We're losing her Jazz, the nearest hospital isn't for miles…we're going to lose her!" Peter was yelling, he had his fingers pressed to Bella's wrist trying to feel for a pulse. What was I going to do?

I didn't have many options. I couldn't let her die, but there was no way I could get her to a hospital in time to save her. I certainly couldn't tend to her wounds and I knew Peter couldn't.

"Jazz…there's no other way. If you don't want her to die you're going to have to bite her."

"No," I shook my head in horror, I'd never be able to take her back to Forks. "No, she has a family that will need to know where she is, I won't ever be able to take her back if I turn her, we have to try the hospital!"

"Jasper we have only seconds before she gets to the point of no return, you have to bite her!" Peter screamed at me. Horrified, I looked at Bella's bloody face, _tell me to baby, tell me this is what you want. _What if she didn't want to be a vampire? She'd be miserable for the rest of her life, the rest of eternity. She'd never forgive me for turning her. I thought of Rosalie briefly, my adopted sister that wished every single day that Carlisle had just let her die.

"JAZZ!" Peter brought me back to reality. I slipped my hand through Bella's, I didn't know what to do. Right when I thought my head was going to explode I felt her small hands squeeze mine just barely. I wasn't even sure if it had been real or if I'd just imagined it.

"Stand over there, I've never tasted her blood before and if I don't stop you'll have to pull me off of her, do you understand?" I commanded Peter. He looked just as scared as I was, the two of us, immortal vampires damned to Hell and we were terrified over the life of this human girl who was the root of my existence. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"YES! Yes," he whimpered. I ripped open her shirt, exposing her chest. My mouth only inches away from the top of her breast, right above where her heart was slowing down.

"I love you," I whispered the words just before I sunk my teeth into her skin as deep as I could.

"What do we do now?" Peter asked.

"We'll have to take her somewhere we can keep her hidden until she wakes up," I whispered as I lifted her into my arms.

"And what about after she wakes?"

"Then… I'll have to take her somewhere we can hide forever…"

_A/N: Okay I know this chapter is SHORT. This is because the next chapter is l-o-n-g! I wanted to give you just enough in this chapter while still saving all the goods for next. Forgive me?_


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: I'm so glad the reaction to last chapter was good-mostly. Also, I want to thank everyone for sticking with me even though I sporadically update and leave you hanging sometimes. I don't want to disappoint, but the end of this story is coming soon. If you read the summary it says "a story about Bella and Jasper finding each other" and I'm pretty sure by this point they've definitely found each other. To be honest I had planned to end the story a while ago but everyone seemed to enjoy it so much and I had a lot of new ideas. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading. _

_Chapter 13: Done All Right_

_**Jasper's POV**_

It's been an entire day since I'd bitten Bella. Peter made the decision to bring her back to his home because I was too shocked to think. In fact I hadn't spoken to anyone except for Bella. Peter had called Carlisle, who was now on his way down to make sure I hadn't fucked everything up. I could've saved him the trip if I'd told him that yes, I had fucked everything up. Or had I?

On one hand, Bella was on the verge of death and the only way to save her was to turn her into one of us. She was going to wake up in a few days as a vampire, not just my girlfriend anymore but my mate. Everything was going to change for us but I was going to have her forever.

On the other hand, when Bella woke up in a few days I would have to tell her that not only is she now a vampire but she would never be able to go back to Forks again. She was never going to see her father again, or her mother. Bella loved her parent's more than most human teenagers. She bonded with them in a way that was almost supernatural because she was mature. She was a forty year old trapped in a 17 year olds body so she was more like friends with her parents, not just a child. I wasn't too sure that she'd love me when she knew that I pretty much sealed the fact that her parents were going to have to be left broken hearted for the rest of their lives, wondering what happened to their precious and only child. Fuck my life.

"Jazz," Peter's voice rang out through the silent room like a bell, temporarily bringing me out of my coma.

"What?" my voice was blank. There was no emotion which by the way, is a very odd feeling for an empath.

"I'm just checking in on you. Charlotte's kind of worried about how thirsty you are."

It was true, my eyes were blacker than coal. My throat was burning like someone had poured kerosene down my throat then lit it on fire. I didn't care though. My eyes wandered back down to Bella whom, if I didn't know any better, looked dead as her body lay lifeless on the bed. It had only been a day but I could already see changes in her. For example, all her wounds were now healed, all that was left of them was the dried blood caked onto her skin.

"I can't leave her. I know she can feel me…hear me. She has to know that she's not alone," I told him. Charlotte came through the door, wrapping her arm around Peter's waist.

"Jasper, sweetheart," her voice was gentle and I could tell she was going to try and persuade me to go hunt. "I thought maybe if you all went and hunted I could stay with Bella. I'll clean her up a bit, maybe put her in some fresh clothes for when she wakes up?"

"That's a good idea," I responded. Relief flooded the room. "Could you go get me something to clean her up with? Grab some clothes while you're at it please." Just as quickly the relief emitted from Charlotte turned into disappointment. Still, she nodded her head and turned to retrieve the items.

"When Carlisle gets here I sure hope he can talk some sense into you," Peter's disappointment was evident as he exited the room. I lay back down beside Bella, caressing her arms with my icy hands. I knew it wouldn't be long before she awoke because her skin felt less hot to me. With every hour her temperature dropped.

Charlotte returned quickly, clothes and washcloths in tow.

"Can I help you?" she asked and I didn't have it in my heart to say no to her, to disappoint her any further.

"Sure."

We were mostly silent as we wiped the blood, dirt, and grime from Bella's skin. I carefully lifted her shirt over her head as Charlotte held her up. For a second I thought she opened her eyes, but it turned out I just imagined it. As Charlotte brushed through the knots in her hair gently I watched, my hands stuffed deep in my pockets. All I wanted was for Char to leave so I could lay back down beside my Bella.

"She's very beautiful Jasper," Charlotte finally said.

"I know."

"I know you feel guilty, you think when she wakes up she'll be unhappy with what you've done…"

"Wow, you don't miss a thing do you?" I spat bitterly, then immediately regretted it when I felt the twang of hurt coming from her. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I don't know Bella, but, I think you're wrong about her."

"So you think she's just going to be completely alright with the fact that she's never going to see her father again or her mother? They _loved_ her Charlotte, it's not like it was with us. Back then…I don't know, it was just different. Charlie would do anything for Bella, and she would do anything for him. I've taken that away from both of them," I explained to her.

"Why can't she see him?" she asked me. I had to take a step back as the surprise of her question seemed to smack me right in the gut.

"You're joking. She's going to look a little different Char, in case you've forgotten. Besides, you know what could happen if…if he found out about what we are. The only thing worse than never seeing him again would be for him to die because of her," I pointed out.

"You told her about us, nothing happened to her."

"Nothing happened? Jesus Char would you fucking look at her?" I all but screamed.

"This had nothing to do with the Volturi, this was about an ancient vendetta against you," she counterpointed.

"Look, I only told her because I'm in love with her. I, eventually, was going to bring up the option of turning her into one of us in the future. The Volturi wouldn't have been able to argue that. Charlie is a whole other story though, he can't know because he hangs out with-" _The wolves. Oh shit. _

"He hangs out with whom?" Charlotte asked.

"When is Carlisle going to be here?" I asked frantically, completely changing the subject.

"Um," she looked at the clock, "He should be here within the hour. Why? What is going on?"

"I'm completely fucked."

Could one more fucking thing go wrong? How the hell was I going to be able to explain this to Jacob Black? He was going to fucking _kill_ me. The worst part was that I distinctly remembered making him a promise that would let him do just that.

I must have paced the entire house a thousand times before I heard the familiar purr of Carlisle's car pull into the drive.

"Carlisle!" I threw my arms around him nearly knocking him over. "I didn't know what else to do, I couldn't lose her," I cried into his shoulder like a 7 year old boy who'd just skinned his knee. I felt ridiculous but knowing he was there lifted some weight off of my shoulders.

"Son, you did what you had to do. I'm very proud of you in a way," he smiled.

"What about the wolves?" my face darkened when Carlisle didn't immediately answer.

"All I've said is that you're searching for Bella. I left out the part where you turned her into one of us. I feel like perhaps Bella should be the one to tell them, when she's capable…that is if your brothers and sisters don't kill them first," he said that last bit with just a hint of a smile. I pictured Alice standing next to a stinky wolf and I felt the urge to smile myself, though I couldn't physically do it.

"Where is she?"

I led Carlisle to Bella's room. Charlotte was sitting beside her, stroking her arm and singing a soft lullaby to her. My heart twisted at the sight, and I felt horrible for the way I'd treated her and Peter recently.

"Carlisle! It's so very good to see you again," she smiled as she gave Carlisle a friendly hug.

"Yes," he replied. "How's our girl doing?"

"It won't be very long now," Charlotte explained, "I have to admit, the change isn't taking nearly as long as I initially thought it would considering her wounds. It's as if she's willing it to happen rapidly."

"Yes, I can already see the beginnings of the change," he assessed watching Bella curiously.

"So what if it's not taking long?" I interjected, "I mean, everyone is different, this isn't so unnatural," I reminded them. Carlisle still looked skeptical.

"I don't know son, I've never seen so much difference in just a day. At this rate, it seems as though she'll probably wake up in a few hours instead of a few days."

"I don't have a plan yet," I admitted. Both Charlotte and Carlisle looked at me as if to say 'What the hell are you talking about?'

"I just mean, what am I going to tell her about Charlie and her Mom, and all her friends? I don't know how I can possibly break it to her that she won't ever see them again. What do I do?" I asked desperately.

"You'll just have to tell her. Who knows how she'll take it, I'm sure she'll be upset but weren't we all?" Carlisle explained plainly.

"What about Charlie? I've been dating his daughter for the past few months and all of a sudden I disappear down here, and of course I'm going to have to move out of Forks. Jesus I'm probably his top fucking suspect!"

"No. I talked to Charlie yesterday. He already assumed that this was all too much for you to handle. I told him you went to spend time with some close relatives. He expects you back eventually but we can deal with that later," Carlisle said. That was a very small relief. It didn't solve my problem, but at least I didn't have to deal with it right now. Fuck, who was I kidding? I was well fucked and far from home.

"I'm breaking down," I whimpered. Suddenly my phone rang…Alice. Alice! She probably knew how all of this was going to turn out…did I want to know?

"Hello?" I answered warily. Alice skipped cheerful greetings.

"Number one," she shouted into the phone, clearly annoyed. "Grow a pair of balls and get over yourself. Number two, everything is fine. Bella isn't going to blame you, she will be heartbroken, but things get better. Trust me. The only thing that is keeping the future hazy is you, all of your damned emotions," she huffed.

"Me? What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you continue to beat yourself up over changing her and blaming yourself for everything she's not going to want to be with you. You have to stop right now," Alice demanded.

"Anything else?"

"Yes. Bella will see Charlie again. It will only be once, but it will be enough. It's going to be a long time from now, but trust me Jazz, it will work out." I smiled with utter relief. Everyone in the room felt it.

"Thank you Alice," I said gratefully. I was about to hang up when she cleared her throat.

"Oh and Jasper…about Maria," she began but I let out a growl.

"When I find her I'm going to rip her to shreds," I menaced.

"You won't have to. The Volturi has been watching her for a while now. She's not going to be alive for very much longer."

"You're sure?" I asked on the edge of my seat.

"Yes. At first I didn't think they were ever going to kill her, but when they realized that she somehow involved you, intending to harm you, they made their decision. You know how Aro feels about Carlisle and this family, for some weird reason he really likes us," she explained. It was true, Aro always favored the Cullen clan, it gave me chills but it seemed to have worked in our favor for once.

"Thank you Alice. You have no idea how much you've helped me," I told her again.

"Well, I was hoping you'd have called me sooner but I know how you get when you're all worked up. You can't even see the obvious sometimes. Tell Carlisle I love him and Esme wants him to pick up that rustic coffee table that she was eyeing last time we were all down there. Ciao."

I shook my head with a smile.

"Feeling better?" Peter said as he came back in.

"Yeah, a lot better actually. Oh and Carlisle," I said to him, "Esme wants you to go buy that coffee table she was eyeing last time you guys were down here." Carlisle rolled his eyes.

"I swear to God if Emmett broke that two thousand dollar coffee table I bought not even a month ago I'm going to kill him," he said. We all chuckled a little at Emmett's expense. I walked back over to Bella and took her hand in mine feeling completely confident and happy for the first time in a while.

_**Bella's POV**_

_Thank you God! _I shouted in my head. The fire was almost completely out. I had spent God only knows how long burning alive in what I thought at first was Hell. If I could cry tears of joy I would but I still can't seem to move let alone will myself to cry.

To pass the time I'd been listening to the sound of my heart beating which was really all I could hear. The pain was so intense that it was causing this loud siren-like noise in my head so I zeroed in on my heartbeat. I was just happy to know that I still had one after what Maria had done to me.

I know Jasper is the one who saved me. His voice was the last thing I heard before I slipped into the darkness. I'd never heard anything so beautiful in my life as his voice. I can't be sure, but I think that he's stayed with me all this time. Like I said before, I couldn't really see or hear anything but somehow I just know he's close to me.

_The fires gone! Oh thank you Lord, it's gone. Why can't I move? Wait…where's my heart? _

Then everything was black…

When I opened my eyes everything was different. I was pretty sure that I was looking at a ceiling but it was really, really bright. I could see every single grain in the wood illuminated. I smelled something too, but I couldn't place it. It was like I was smelling every single scent that I'd ever smelled and then some that I didn't even know existed.

"Bella?" I heard Jasper's sweet voice and I sat straight up. I noticed that I didn't have to push my body up with my arms, I just…sat up.

Jasper looked different. I'd seen his scars before but now I could see even more. Scars upon scars, I touched his arm and looked into those honey-gold eyes apologetically.

"Are you alright darlin'? he asked gently. I thought about his question for a moment, wanting to answer honestly.

"I'm confused." _Whoa. _I shot my hand up to cover my mouth. I was positive that I had just said that but it didn't sound like me.

I turned around to face the room, there were other people here. Who were they? I felt defensive at first but that melted away as soon as I saw the mirror on the other side of the room. I took a few steps forward and everyone backed up, which startled me.

"I'm sorry," I said, a little taken back. "I just need a mirror, I didn't mean to frighten you." Jesus was I talking? That couldn't be my voice. I recognized one of the faces suddenly.

"Dr. Cullen? What are you doing here?" I asked, or at least, I think I'm the one who asked.

"I'm, uh, I…" he stuttered. Hmm, he never struck me as the stuttering type. I walked past him when I could tell he wasn't able to speak.

When I looked into the mirror I saw the most beautiful person I'd ever seen, besides Jasper. I touched the glass with my hand and the person staring back at me met my motion on the other side.

"Is this me?" I asked suddenly looking back at Jasper.

"Yes darlin'. You're beautiful," he smiled. I looked back into the mirror. It was my nose, my mouth, and then I saw my eyes.

"Oh my!" I gasped. They were the right shape, but they were a deep shade of crimson. I leaned in close to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

"My eyes!" I whispered hoarsely.

"The color will change in a few months," Jasper said apologetically as he came to stand behind me. I smiled a bit when I realized he was having trouble keeping his eyes, and hands off me.

"Yuck!" a deep voice sounded from across the room, "You're gonna make the poor girl eat animals too?" he asked but I could tell this person was being sarcastic. For the first time I really looked at the two other vampires standing in the room. It didn't take me long to realize who they must be. Jasper had told me many happy stories about Peter and Charlotte.

"You must be Peter," I smiled. The man nodded. "And Charlotte? Gosh, you're so beautiful. Way prettier than Jasper described," I told her.

"Typical Jasper," she laughed, "Understating everything."

"It's wonderful to meet you both," I told them. I turned back to Jasper who was grinning wildly.

"So…am I like you now?" I asked sheepishly.

"Yes," he barely whispered but I heard him as if he said it normally. "Is that okay?"

I ran to him and threw my arms around him. "We'll be together forever!" I squealed with excitement.

"Bella!" he gasped, "You're kinda hurting me baby."

"Sorry," I giggled as I released him.

"You're being so calm!" Jasper guffawed.

"So?"

"Well, usually- I mean, normally newborns are…well, insane," he said.

"I rationalize well, you know that," I explained. When I was human- gosh that sounds weird- I always took precaution to think about my words and actions. It was important to me to make as few mistakes as I possibly could.

"I know, it's just…" Jasper trailed off and I didn't need to be superhuman to realize he was holding something back.

"It's just what?" I pushed.

"Well, aren't you, you know, _thirsty_?" he asked timidly. To be honest I wasn't sure. I knew that whenever Jasper was thirsty his throat burned or something. My throat was aching, like I'd slept in cold air with my mouth open but not burning.

"Not really. Why?" I raised an eyebrow when Jasper's expression turned from confused to shocked. When I looked behind me at the others they too looked like I had snakes coming out of my ears or something. "Why? I'm just not thirsty right now, jeez. You all don't hunt 24/7, there are times when you aren't that thirsty, right?"

"Well yes, but we're all centuries old. You're only a few minutes old. For newborns, well, blood is just about the only thing you can think about," Dr. Cullen explained to me. I had to admit, the mention of blood did make the ache in my throat flare up a bit but nothing horrible. Besides, I didn't want to go "hunt" right now, I wanted to spend some time with Jasper so we could talk.

"Perhaps she's gifted?" Charlotte suggested. Everyone processed this, myself included.

"It is possible, it would be quite ironic," Dr. Cullen smirked glancing at Jasper. I was confused though.

"Ironic? What do you mean?" I asked. He glanced uncomfortably in Jasper's direction.

"What he means is, I'm certainly not known for my self control. It would be ironic if you, my mate, were incredibly self controlled," Jasper explained.

"That makes perfect sense to me," I said. "That's why we found each other. Maybe this was all meant to be, so I could keep you from going astray and killing humans." I quickly turned to Peter and Charlotte. "No offense, of course," I smiled and I was glad that I was no longer capable of blushing. Peter laughed and shook his hand at me.

"None taken Bella," he smiled.

"She does have a point Jazz," Charlotte giggled. Jasper pondered this for a few moments, but I think he accepted it. Of course we couldn't be sure until I actually hunted but the fact that I was but minutes old and not thirsty definitely insinuated it.

"Okay everyone," Jasper finally said, "I'd like some privacy with Bella please." I was very glad he said that. We waited as they each cleared the room, and the house. Finally I turned back to Jasper, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried about you baby," he said as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"How long have I been gone?" I asked thinking of everyone back home who was probably still worried about me.

"Almost a week," he answered.

"Wow. God, Charlie is probably beside himself," I said out loud.

"Bella, about that…" Jasper turned around and sat down on the bed, something was wrong.

"Charlie is okay isn't he?" it had never occurred to me that when the vampires broke into my house that they could've done something to Charlie.

"Yes, of course. He's alive, and healthy I suppose though I know he's very worried and scared," he assured me.

"Well we have to go back, I know I've changed but he has to know I'm okay," I said. Jasper's face fell a little, I could tell that something was wrong but he was trying very hard to be strong for me. Behind his sad eyes and wavering smile, I could see strength and determination.

"Bella," he finally whispered, "We…we can't ever go back, not for a very, very long time anyways." Now it was my turn to collapse onto the bed.

"But…why?" I asked pitifully.

"Do you remember when I told you I was a vampire, how I told you I was breaking so many rules?" he asked, and I nodded my head. It was a little foggy to me now but I remembered. "Well, I wasn't breaking a lot of rules, just one really. But it's the one rule that dictates vampirism," he took my hands in his.

"You aren't supposed to tell humans that you exist," I deduced. Jasper nodded apologetically. I knew that my heart didn't beat anymore but I still had this horrible ache where it used to beat.

"But Charlie, he would never tell if I asked him too," I told him hoping that it might change his mind. Instead he just looked hurt because he had to tell me no.

"Darlin', it doesn't really matter. I don't want to scare you, but Charlie could be killed for knowing, not to mention they would come after us too for telling," he said gently.

"They? Who?" I asked.

"The Volturi," he said the name very slow, "They're kind of like the royal family of vampires. They make the rules and everyone has to follow them. It doesn't happen often, but, if you break one the sentence is death for everyone involved," he explained. "I know you love your father, and that's why I can't bring you back to Forks. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to either one of you Bella, I just couldn't live."

I didn't say anything. I just pictured Dad, sitting in the living room years from now watching the game and wishing that I was there, sitting on the floor reading or doing homework. He'd think I was dead, his little girl, and I'd never be able to tell him that I was okay, that he did everything right and how much I missed him and Renee.

"I understand," I whispered, my lips quivering like I was crying but no tears came out. I wanted to go to Charlie, but I wouldn't risk his life.

"Alice did say that you'll see him again, it will be a long time from now, but she said it will be enough…for both of you," he told me, grasping my hand in his. This made me a little happier, but my heart still hurt for Charlie. "Are you okay love?" Jasper asked me.

"This is going to take a while to get used to," I told him, "But I have you, forever, and that's good enough for me. I love you Jasper Whitlock," I whispered as I leaned over to kiss him for the first time as a vampire.

"You feel so good now, you aren't cold anymore," I smiled. He laughed and pulled some of my hair away from my face.

"No darlin', I'm not cold anymore."


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_**Jasper's Journal**_

_December 27__th__ 2097_

_It's been almost a century that Bella and I have been together. Honestly, I don't believe that I could ever love her more yet some days when the sun comes up and I watch the first rays of sunshine hit her skin I find myself amazed that I can love her more. _

_As expected, all of Alice's initial visions came true. A few weeks after Bella was changed we got word of Maria's demise, Bella was so relieved mostly because she knew my past, and how Maria was one of the few things in this world that scared me. I don't know what I'd do without my Bella. As it were, Bella did turn out to be extremely self-controlled and had helped me keep my bloodlust under control more times than I can count. She really must be made for me. _

_Soon after Bella was changed she arranged a brief meeting with Jacob Black. To my astonishment he took the surprise very well, and even gave us his blessing, which I didn't need particularly but it made Bella feel so much better. She's still in contact with him, though we rarely see him anymore as he is traveling with his wife, Alyssa. _

_Bella and I married shortly after we moved in with Esme and Carlisle. We spent a year traveling across Europe for our honeymoon, though we rarely ever made it out of our hotel rooms. When we returned Bella got her GED so she could apply to a local community college. Eventually I convinced her to move out and we lived in various cities in Alaska, and even spent a few years living in Canada. _

_Also, as Alice predicted, Bella did see Charlie again. It was late one summer when Jacob called Bella to tell her Charlie was on his deathbed and that if she ever wanted to see him again, she'd better hurry. When she arrived at the hospital Charlie was confused, but she explained everything to him. I could feel his initial anger as he realized that she'd been alive all this time, but that faded quickly and they spent the entire night talking and comforting each other. She spent three days with him in the hospital and then one night he slipped away, her hand wrapped around his gently. It was a bittersweet moment but Bella felt so relieved and comforted knowing Chief Swan left this world knowing how much she loved him. _

_Now, it just past Christmas and Bella is anxiously awaiting the Christmas present that I've kept from her for a few days. I can't wait until she sees it, the cabin she dreamed about at the pond where we found each other so many years ago. It was a big decision to move back to Forks Washington, but she's been talking about it for months, dropping subtle hints here and there like "Don't you miss how the rain used to hit the windows in Forks?" and "There hasn't been a thunderstorm here in years, do you remember how it used to thunderstorm in Forks almost every other day?" she knows I love thunderstorms. _

_I wish I could give her more than just a simple cabin but I know that deep down it's the simplest things that make her happy. She never ceases to amaze me, but I love every minute I spend with her. Amazingly enough she feels the same way about me, I'm so in tune to her emotions that I could probably read them four states away. I'm not sure what's in store for our future, though Alice is only a phone call away, but who cares? As long as Bella and I have each other, I'll always be alright. I'm forever in love with my Isabella. _

_**Author's Note: Well, this is the end guys. I'm really sorry if it didn't end the way you hopes, or if there were any disappointments but I was pretty happy with it. I liked the idea of having a journal entry as an epilogue, I feel like it's pretty unique anyway. I just want to thank everyone for reading my first story and being so nice and understanding, you guys really are the sh**! I'll definitely be writing more stories so check in every now and then =)**_


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